Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate the Government has made of the net cost of the implementation of his proposal relating to settlement fees applicable to non-UK Service Personnel leaving the UK armed forces and wishing to remain in the UK, published on 26 May 2021.

The policy proposal outlined in the public consultation seeks to waive the current settlement application cost of £2,389 for Service personnel who have served a minimum of their initial engagement period of 12 years when they leave the UK Armed Forces. The number of non-UK Service personnel leaving at this point in their service varies each year.

Until the public consultation closes and a decision is made regarding the final policy, it is too early to know exactly how many non-UK Service personnel may be eligible for a fee waiver if they choose to settle in the UK on discharge and what the associated costs are likely to be.