Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Armed Forces: Recruitment and Retention

Monday 2 November 2020 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial Department is implementing measures to support recruitment and retention of armed forces personnel.
  • Measures include competitive pay, financial incentives, flexible service, and accommodation programmes.
  • Standards for new recruits have risen significantly compared to previous years.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Desmond Swayne Con New Forest West
Defence
Context

No specific context provided.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to recruit and retain armed forces personnel.

Answer from Johnny Mercer

We have a range of measures supporting recruitment and retention, and continue to refine the armed forces offer. Measures include competitive pay, financial incentives, flexible service, and retention-positive accommodation programmes.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific timelines, numerical targets for recruitment and retention were not provided.

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Q2 Desmond Swayne Con New Forest West
Defence
Context

No specific context provided.

Question

What is the Minister's estimate of the quality of new recruits? Hopefully they are better than we were.

Answer from Johnny Mercer

I can safely assure my right hon. Friend that standards have risen significantly since he and I were accepted into the military. We make no bones about it: the standards to get into our military are some of the highest in comparison with our peer nations. We employ some of the finest people this nation has to offer, and under this Government we are seeing a conscious shift towards how we look after them and value them as our finest asset.

Not addressed: No specific metrics or comparative data on recruit quality provided.

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