Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral evidence by Charlie Forte to the Public Accounts Committee on 14 November 2022, HC 727, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the speed of the recruitment process on potential recruits.

The Department acknowledge that there are undoubtedly areas at each stage of the recruitment process pertaining to speed that require improvement. The MOD are confident that these will help improve our ability to retain potential recruits throughout the process. Areas for improvement include processing of applications prior to interview, the vetting process, and the onboarding process. We are completing in-depth analysis of areas within our control to identify where we can shorten the timelines and working with other Government Departments on those outside of our control, such as the vetting process.