Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of the proposed requirement to learn maths until 18 on the defence workforce.

No assessment has been made of the impact on the Defence workforce of the proposed requirement to learn maths until 18. However, Armed Forces recruiting organisations continually monitor developments in central policy and are agile in accommodating them into recruiting policies and practices. These are further supported by Defence policies underpinning the skills and qualifications of personnel whilst in Armed Forces employment.

Functional Skills (FS) underpin the practical approach embodied in military training and complements the day-to-day work of Service personnel. Defence has adopted FS qualifications as the accredited measures of literacy and numeracy skills for all Service personnel accessing in-Service literacy and numeracy provision. Recruits and trainees face training that places immediate demands on their FS abilities, particularly during technical Phase 2 training. It is essential, therefore, that they are capable of operating at an appropriate level upon reaching that stage of training. The single Services seek to improve the FS (English) and FS (Mathematics) abilities of all recruits by at least one national level and, ideally and if achievable within resources, to a minimum of Level 2. It should be noted that over 95% of recruits are offered an apprenticeship aligned to their trade training at a minimum of Level 2, which requires a minimum of FS Level 1 maths.

Initial Assessments are conducted by the single Services for all recruits (who do not hold Level 2 English and Maths equivalent qualifications), and a further Diagnostic Assessment is in place for all those identified as having FS needs. Diagnostic Assessment is regarded as an ongoing process that is repeated, as required, until the Service person achieves Level 2 qualification.