Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by the National Audit Office Investigation into the British Army Recruiting Partnering Project, published on 14 December 2018, why the British army did not simplify its recruitment process before introducing the Capita online army recruitment system.

At the outset of the contract the Army and Capita failed to understand the complexity of the Army recruitment requirement and the challenges faced. These were compounded by the delays in developing the new information technology to support the processes.

The Army and Capita are implementing a range of policy and process changes to increase enlistments to the Army. These have been informed by lessons learned and are, where appropriate, being piloted prior to full introduction. The improvements include changes to simplify and streamline the process.