Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will review the policy which excludes the assessment of mitigating factors when automatically rejecting applications, as a result of disciplinary action, from previous trainees wishing to serve again with the Royal Navy Fleet Auxiliary, where the mitigating factor for that disciplinary action was the trainee experiencing a sexual assault during their previous service.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary remains an equal opportunities employer and all applicants for employment are assessed against a number of criteria which vary from role to role. The Department maintains high standards of entry in order to ensure that it employs a capable and committed workforce. There are no planned changes to this policy at this time.