Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timetable is for the completion of the review of medical entry standards; and what interim (a) guidance and (b) appeal mechanisms are available to applicants to the armed forces with well-managed asthma.

Defence is committed to a diverse workforce, seeking to ‘select in’ rather than ‘select out’ and is focused on work to review the current policies for Armed Forces recruiting.

An update to Joint Service Publication (JSP) 950 Leaflet 6-7-7, which sets out the medical entry standards for the Armed Forces, was published in August 2024 following an intensive period of review undertaken by clinical experts, Defence personnel staff, and the recruiting agencies.

The updated JSP 950 Leaflet 6-7-7 is now in use and in the case of asthma confirms candidates may now be able to join the Armed Forces providing they meet certain criteria. Defence Medical Services continue to monitor and consider all emerging medical evidence to inform medical entry standards.

There is an executive waiver process where the employing Service may, exceptionally, recruit someone who is below the normal medical entry standards. This may include individuals with unique specialist skills that outweigh any functional limitations they might have.