Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timetable is for the next Army Messing Survey.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Army Messing Survey 2021 document was developed for an internal audience and there are no current plans to publish the results. The Department incorporated the feedback of this survey into the Army Exploring the Appetites of Today Soldiers (EATS) proposition, trialled across a series of 14-18 month pilots. The results of the pilots led to a final report published in 2023 and informed the development of the Defence Catering Strategy (DCS) - the implementation of which began in May in early 2024.
There are no plans for another wholesale review in the near term and, as referred to in my answer of 10 March 2025 to Question 35639, the DCS provides personnel with the opportunity to provide regular feedback through a wide variety of existing means so that we can continually improve food quality across Defence.
Written Evidence Feb. 04 2025
Inquiry: The Armed Forces CovenantFound: AFC0040 - The Armed Forces Covenant British Army Written Evidence
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2025 to Question 35639 on Army: Food, for what reason there was a period of three years between the 2021 survey and the launch of the Defence Catering Strategy.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Army Messing Survey 2021 document was developed for an internal audience and there are no current plans to publish the results. The Department incorporated the feedback of this survey into the Army Exploring the Appetites of Today Soldiers (EATS) proposition, trialled across a series of 14-18 month pilots. The results of the pilots led to a final report published in 2023 and informed the development of the Defence Catering Strategy (DCS) - the implementation of which began in May in early 2024.
There are no plans for another wholesale review in the near term and, as referred to in my answer of 10 March 2025 to Question 35639, the DCS provides personnel with the opportunity to provide regular feedback through a wide variety of existing means so that we can continually improve food quality across Defence.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many full-time regular personnel were serving with the Royal Army Medical Corps on 14 March 2025; and if he will make an estimate of the number of full-time regular personnel who will be serving in the (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27 and (c) 20270-28 financial years.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Royal Army Medical Corps have been amalgamated with Royal Army Dental Corps and Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps to form the Royal Army Medical Service. As at 1 January 2025 there were 3,954 Trade Trained Regular personnel in the Royal Army Medical Service.
The Army does not routinely release detailed future workforce forecasts.
Notes/Caveats:
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which company is contracted to deliver recruitment advertising for the Army.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Capita is currently contracted to deliver recruitment advertising on behalf of the British Army, until the new tri-service Armed Forces Recruiting Service (AFRS) launches in 2027.
The approved budget for the Army’s recruitment advertising in 2025-26 is c.£18,000,000.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total size is of the British Army advertising budget in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Capita is currently contracted to deliver recruitment advertising on behalf of the British Army, until the new tri-service Armed Forces Recruiting Service (AFRS) launches in 2027.
The approved budget for the Army’s recruitment advertising in 2025-26 is c.£18,000,000.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have subsequently joined the Army Reserve after completing the (a) Gap Year Commission or (b) Army Officer Internship since 2015.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This information is not readily available. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as practical and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have subsequently joined the Regular Army after completing the (a) Gap Year Commission and (b) Army Officer Internship since 2015.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This information is not readily available. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as practical and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he decided not to release the workforce requirement figures of Army regiments for reasons of operational security.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
In 2022, with Departmental support, the Army adopted a position not to release the workforce requirement of its internal organisations following the announcement of the Integrated Review and Future Soldier transformation.
I am happy to speak to my hon. Friend about this further.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of army recruits participating in the long course at the Army Foundation College left the army before completing the course in 2024.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Of the 707 Junior Entry trainees that were due to complete training in 2024 as a result of starting the long course at the Army Foundation College in 2023, 198 left and discharged from training prior to completing the course. This equated to 28% of the total discharging from the course prior to completion.
The main reason for early discharge was individuals exercising their “Discharge As Of Right”, i.e. voluntary discharge. An average of 167 personnel discharged voluntarily between 2013 and 2023.