Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate her Department has made of the comparative annual cost per head of (a) incarceration and (b) military service for non-violent offenders.

We have no current plans to introduce military service as an alternative to custody. Therefore, no comparative cost analysis has been undertaken.

Research indicates that sentences with a military focus do not reduce re-offending. The evidence shows that it is the intervention to address offending behaviour which makes a difference, not the military regime and physical toughness.