Written question asked by Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party) on Monday, 23 October 2017, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 25 October 2017. It was answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative) on Tuesday, 31 October 2017 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Armed Forces: Languages

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people there are with foreign language skills in the (a) Army and (b) Royal Air Force; and in which such languages those people are skilled.

Answer: There are approximately 850 Service personnel across the Ministry of Defence (MOD) trained in some 40 different languages. It is not possible to provide a detailed breakdown because of the strategic and operational sensitivities surrounding them. The MOD's language requirements are met from a Departmental pool of Armed Forces and civilian personnel; the Department regularly reviews its future requirements for linguists and trains its personnel accordingly.

Secondary information