Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 218 of the publication entitled Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2022–23, what recent estimate his Department has made of when it will complete a pan-Defence whole force skills picture.

Defence is working to implement the Pan Defence Skills Framework (PDSF) as a new Whole Force approach to identifying, defining, and managing the skills of Defence's people and their associated roles. The PDSF will be used by Regular and Reserve Armed Forces personnel as well as Civil Servants, giving Defence a Whole Force view of the skills we have and allowing us to identify the areas where we need to focus our resources.

The PDSF will also enable us to better recognise skills, as recommended in the Haythornthwaite Review into Armed Forces Incentivisation, to be able to better reward Armed Forces personnel for the skills they hold. Extensive work is currently underway to codify the skills we have in Defence. The PDSF project team expect to begin a phased roll-out of the PDSF through 2024 and we anticipate the whole Defence force will be incorporated by 30 March 2025.

As we move forward, the data provided by the PDSF will facilitate flexible deployment, zig-zag careers, lateral entry, empowered careers and will introduce more transparency to appraisal and promotion. It will ultimately enable teams to deploy personnel where they are needed most, helping Defence create the fighting force the nation needs for the future.