Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 May 2025 to Question 49573 on Armed Forces: Labour Turnover, what steps he is taking to reduce the armed forces outflow.

The current Government inherited a crisis in recruitment and retention from the last administration. We have made a series of announcements to improve Armed Forces recruitment and retention.

Since July 2024 we have taken decisive measures to redress the recruitment and retention crisis, with policies including one of the largest pay increases in the last 20 years for existing personnel, slashing the time it takes to access medical records from weeks to hours and restructuring the Army’s recruitment organisation. These activities and their impacts will inform the development of the Armed Forces Recruitment Service which is being implemented to further improve the speed with which highly motivated and capable people can join our Armed Forces. The results are clear: year on year inflow is up 19%, outflow is down 7%, the Navy’s yearly recruiting target has been exceeded, the RAF’s applications are up 34% compared to early 2024, and the Army is seeing a seven-year high in applications.

To support retention of Armed Forces personnel, the Armed Forces pay increase represents a significant investment in our people, and we have gone further in announcing a £30,000 financial incentive to a cohort of tri-Service Air Engineers as well as an £8,000 retention payment for a cohort of Army personnel. We have protected the integrity of the Continuity of Education Allowance, repurchased the Service Family Accommodation estate from Annington Homes and extended Wraparound Childcare to families serving overseas which will potentially save up to £3,400 annually for Service families.