Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it remains his policy to increase (a) female personnel to 15 per cent of intake and (b) Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic personnel to at least 10 percent of total intake by 2020.

The Defence Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, published in October 2018, is based on achieving a vision that reflects our recognition that the recruitment, and inclusion of individuals with diverse skills, perspectives and backgrounds will bring real strength to Defence and wider society.

The Armed Forces continue to work towards targets of 10 per cent of recruits to come from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic backgrounds and 15 percent to be women by 2020.

Work to increase representation in the Armed Forces includes better understanding and greater engagement with these communities, reviewing recruitment processes; and better targeted marketing and communications towards potential applicants.