Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether a separated parent may prevent their child's enlistment in the armed forces when the other separated parent has granted consent.

Parental consent to join the Armed Forces must be obtained for those aged under 18. All persons who have parental responsibility must give their consent in writing before the application can proceed. If an agreement cannot be reached, a parent can apply for a Specific Issue Order or Prohibited Steps Order. A judge will then make a decision based on the applicant's best interests.

The Ministry of Defence takes its duty of care to all recruits extremely seriously, and those aged under 18 are treated with special consideration.

All Phase 1 and Phase 2 training organisations are subject to Ofsted inspection and the Army Foundation College (AFC) Harrogate was graded 'Outstanding' earlier this year. Ofsted were particularly impressed by the strong ethos of emotional and psychological safety at AFC Harrogate, where dedicated safeguarding, mental health and wellbeing leads support students at the college.

Service personnel aged under 18 are not deployed on hostile operations outside the UK or on any operations where they could be exposed to hostilities. All new recruits, regardless of age, can discharge within their first three to six months of service.