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To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to withdraw the Watchkeeper RPV from operational service with the Army.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to withdraw the Watchkeeper RPV from operational service with the Army.
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 October 2025 to Question 77261 to the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr Obese-Jecty) which remains extant.
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-09-15/77261
As General Lord Dannatt, the former Chief of the General Staff, said at the weekend,
“if potential recruits to our Armed Forces do not believe that their government will stand by them when performing their duties in a lawful manner, why risk joining at all?”
He was speaking about Labour’s new Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, which could see Northern Ireland veterans, without whom there would never have been a Good Friday agreement in the first place, in the dock again by next year. The Minister called opponents of this “naive”. What is her response to the former head of the British Army and the brave soldiers he led—were they all naive, too?
As General Lord Dannatt, the former Chief of the General Staff, said at the weekend,
“if potential recruits to our Armed Forces do not believe that their government will stand by them when performing their duties in a lawful manner, why risk joining at all?”
He was speaking about Labour’s new Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, which could see Northern Ireland veterans, without whom there would never have been a Good Friday agreement in the first place, in the dock again by next year. The Minister called opponents of this “naive”. What is her response to the former head of the British Army and the brave soldiers he led—were they all naive, too?
Seeing as the right hon. Gentleman is attacking me for something I did not say, I can only assume that he cannot attack me—
It’s in Hansard!
It’s in Hansard!
He is very welcome to check Hansard, where he will see that I was very specifically referring to people spreading misinformation. He will be able to see it there in black and white in Hansard.
It is in Hansard.
It is in Hansard.
It is in Hansard, absolutely—I urge the right hon. Gentleman to reread it to see the full quote.
This Government are committed to protecting those who serve. Our first and foremost priority is to protect and ensure the welfare of those who have served, just as we have done for many people who have served in our armed forces across multiple conflicts. I can only say again that the commitment of this Government to our veterans is total.
The former Labour Security Minister Lord West said recently that we “shouldn’t be doing” this. Lord Glasman, the founder of Blue Labour, said:
“We must reverse it as soon as possible.”
The hon. Member for Blackley and Middleton South (Graham Stringer) said that
“to continue this against one side makes no sense.”
With a Labour rebellion clearly brewing, and given that many Northern Ireland veterans were initially recruited from red wall seats, why are Labour Ministers insisting on driving their Back Benchers into the Division Lobby just to do Sinn Féin and their old comrades in the IRA a favour?
The former Labour Security Minister Lord West said recently that we “shouldn’t be doing” this. Lord Glasman, the founder of Blue Labour, said:
“We must reverse it as soon as possible.”
The hon. Member for Blackley and Middleton South (Graham Stringer) said that
“to continue this against one side makes no sense.”
With a Labour rebellion clearly brewing, and given that many Northern Ireland veterans were initially recruited from red wall seats, why are Labour Ministers insisting on driving their Back Benchers into the Division Lobby just to do Sinn Féin and their old comrades in the IRA a favour?
I urge the right hon. Gentleman to remember the really serious issues that are at stake here. The priorities of this Government, as we have shown repeatedly, are to do right by the families of more than 200 British service personnel who were murdered in Northern Ireland and to ensure that we have protections and appropriate measures in place to defend our veterans; we have five protections in law and a sixth that we have control over ourselves. I can assure the right hon. Gentleman again that the Government’s commitment to veterans is total.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether dismounted infantry companies in 3 (UK) Division are now planned to transition from Warrior vehicles to ARES rather than to Boxer.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether dismounted infantry companies in 3 (UK) Division are now planned to transition from Warrior vehicles to ARES rather than to Boxer.
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer my predecessor gave on 21 July 2025 to Question 68120 to the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr Obese-Jecty). The statement remains extant and explains that the Army intends to equip the Regular Infantry Units within 3 (UK) Division with ARES in the infantry troop carrying role.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, who is leading the investigation into unauthorised social media use by a British Army regiment.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, who is leading the investigation into unauthorised social media use by a British Army regiment.
The Army has investigated a number of social media posts which were published in error and without correct authorisation. Those posts have been removed and updated guidance has been issued to Regimental HQs on the appropriate use of regimental websites and social media pages. This work has been conducted as part of Army routine business, with no additional costs incurred.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the terms of reference are for the investigation into unauthorised social media posts by a British Army regiment.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the terms of reference are for the investigation into unauthorised social media posts by a British Army regiment.
The Army has investigated a number of social media posts which were published in error and without correct authorisation. Those posts have been removed and updated guidance has been issued to Regimental HQs on the appropriate use of regimental websites and social media pages. This work has been conducted as part of Army routine business, with no additional costs incurred.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timeline is for concluding the investigation into unauthorised social media use by a British Army regiment; and whether he plans to make a Statement to Parliament on the findings of the investigation.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timeline is for concluding the investigation into unauthorised social media use by a British Army regiment; and whether he plans to make a Statement to Parliament on the findings of the investigation.
The Army has investigated a number of social media posts which were published in error and without correct authorisation. Those posts have been removed and updated guidance has been issued to Regimental HQs on the appropriate use of regimental websites and social media pages. This work has been conducted as part of Army routine business, with no additional costs incurred.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the findings of the investigation into unauthorised social media use by a British Army regiment will be made publicly available.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the findings of the investigation into unauthorised social media use by a British Army regiment will be made publicly available.
The Army has investigated a number of social media posts which were published in error and without correct authorisation. Those posts have been removed and updated guidance has been issued to Regimental HQs on the appropriate use of regimental websites and social media pages. This work has been conducted as part of Army routine business, with no additional costs incurred.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of the investigation into unauthorised social media use by a British Army regiment.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of the investigation into unauthorised social media use by a British Army regiment.
The Army has investigated a number of social media posts which were published in error and without correct authorisation. Those posts have been removed and updated guidance has been issued to Regimental HQs on the appropriate use of regimental websites and social media pages. This work has been conducted as part of Army routine business, with no additional costs incurred.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of Army personnel were classified as (a) Medically Fully Deployable, (b) Medically Limited Deployable and (c) Medically Not Deployable as of 1 January 2025.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of Army personnel were classified as (a) Medically Fully Deployable, (b) Medically Limited Deployable and (c) Medically Not Deployable as of 1 January 2025.
The table below presents the Medical Deployability Standard of UK Armed Forces personnel, broken down by Service, as at 1 January 2025.
| Medically Fully Deployable (MFD) | Medically Limited Deployable (MLD) | Medically Not Deployable (MND) | |||
| n | % | n | % | n | % |
All | 99,162 | 78.1% | 14,361 | 11.3% | 13,503 | 10.6% |
Royal Navy | 17,858 | 79.9% | 1,994 | 8.9% | 2,495 | 11.2% |
Royal Marines | 4,989 | 87.0% | 356 | 6.2% | 389 | 6.8% |
Army | 54,695 | 76.9% | 9,478 | 13.3% | 6,973 | 9.8% |
RAF | 21,620 | 77.8% | 2,533 | 9.1% | 3,646 | 13.1% |
Source: DMICP & JPA.
1. MDS was missing for 10 personnel.
2.The figures provided are for full time trained (Royal Navy and RAF)/trade trained (army) and serving against
requirement personnel in service.
3. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to MDS being missing for a small number of personnel.
Personnel with a grade of MLD are medically fit for duty with minor employment limitations. A grade of MLD requires a medical risk assessment to be carried out for deployment. The decision on that deployment will depend on the medical condition, individual function, the proposed employment, length of the deployment and the medical support available.
Personnel graded as Medically Non-Deployable are not fit to deploy on Operations; however, they may be deployable on UK based exercises and should be able to work effectively for at least 32.5 hours per week. Personnel graded Medically Non-Deployable may require continued medical care, long term medication and access to secondary care facilities.
This new Government is committed to providing world-class medical treatment to ensure personnel can return to duty where possible, or to support their transition to civilian life.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the keynote recording of the Chief of the General Staff at the RUSI Land Warfare Conference 2024, published on 23 June 2024, whether his Department has taken recent steps to double the lethality of the British Army by 2027...
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the keynote recording of the Chief of the General Staff at the RUSI Land Warfare Conference 2024, published on 23 June 2024, whether his Department has taken recent steps to double the lethality of the British Army by 2027...
The Chief of the General Staff is working hard to fulfil the ambition outlined at the RUSI Land Warfare conference. The British Army continues to work to these goals, in tandem with the ongoing Strategic Defence Review.
On the subject of recruitment and retention, on 7 November the Chief of the General Staff, Patrick Sanders—arguably the best general of his generation—told the Defence Committee:
“We are taking 400 soldiers out of the field army to put them alongside recruiters, because—guess what?—it takes a soldier to recruit a soldier.”
Never was a truer word spoken. So when are we finally going to sack Capita?
On the subject of recruitment and retention, on 7 November the Chief of the General Staff, Patrick Sanders—arguably the best general of his generation—told the Defence Committee:
“We are taking 400 soldiers out of the field army to put them alongside recruiters, because—guess what?—it takes a soldier to recruit a soldier.”
Never was a truer word spoken. So when are we finally going to sack Capita?
I thank my right hon. Friend for his question—I knew he would get Capita in there somewhere. He will be familiar with the Engage to Recruit programme, which is currently underway and having some success in getting soldiers to recruit soldiers. That is probably why, as I touched on in my earlier answer, we are now seeing some extremely promising recruiting figures, including in January—the best figures for six years.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's target was for recruitment of (a) officers and (b) other ranks into the British Army for each of the first three quarters in the 2023-24 financial year.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's target was for recruitment of (a) officers and (b) other ranks into the British Army for each of the first three quarters in the 2023-24 financial year.
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 January to Question 7264 from the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (Mr Healey) which shows the Basic Training Starts (BTS) Targets for British Army Other Ranks for financial year 2022-23.
Demand targets for BTS are set annually. Quarterly targets are used for internal guidance and they can change in-year in order to meet the annual target.
The table below shows those internal targets for the first three quarters of 2023-24:
Financial Year | Other Ranks Basic Training Starts Targets |
2023-24 Quarter 1 | 1,890 |
2023-24 Quarter 2 | 2,760 |
2023-24 Quarter 3 | 2,120 |
There are no targets for Officers BTS.
Notes/caveats:
- These figures are for the Regular Army Only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Army Reserve and all other Reserves, but includes those personnel that have transferred from GURTAM to UKTAP.
- Basic Training Start figures only include personnel who entered Phase 1 training.
- 2023-24 Quarter 1 includes figures from 01 April 2023 to 30 June 2023.
- 2023-24 Quarter 2 includes figures from 01 July 2023 to 30 September 2023.
- 2023-24 Quarter 3 includes figures from 01 October 2023 to 31 December 2023
- Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes; numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
- Totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not appear to be the sum of their parts.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the target for recruitment of (a) officers and (b) other ranks in the British army was in 2022-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the target for recruitment of (a) officers and (b) other ranks in the British army was in 2022-23.
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 January to Question 7264 from the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (Mr Healey) which shows the Basic Training Starts (BTS) Targets for British Army Other Ranks for financial year 2022-23.
Demand targets for BTS are set annually. Quarterly targets are used for internal guidance and they can change in-year in order to meet the annual target.
The table below shows those internal targets for the first three quarters of 2023-24:
Financial Year | Other Ranks Basic Training Starts Targets |
2023-24 Quarter 1 | 1,890 |
2023-24 Quarter 2 | 2,760 |
2023-24 Quarter 3 | 2,120 |
There are no targets for Officers BTS.
Notes/caveats:
- These figures are for the Regular Army Only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Army Reserve and all other Reserves, but includes those personnel that have transferred from GURTAM to UKTAP.
- Basic Training Start figures only include personnel who entered Phase 1 training.
- 2023-24 Quarter 1 includes figures from 01 April 2023 to 30 June 2023.
- 2023-24 Quarter 2 includes figures from 01 July 2023 to 30 September 2023.
- 2023-24 Quarter 3 includes figures from 01 October 2023 to 31 December 2023
- Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes; numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
- Totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not appear to be the sum of their parts.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) officers and (b) other ranks were recruited to the Army in 2022-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) officers and (b) other ranks were recruited to the Army in 2022-23.
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 January to Question 7264 from the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (Mr Healey) which shows the Basic Training Starts for British Army Officer and Other Ranks for financial year 2022-23.
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-12-18/7264
The below table shows how many Officers and Other Ranks were recruited into the British Army in Q1 & Q2 2023-24. The figures for Q3 2023-24 are not yet available.
Financial year | Total basic Training starts Actuals | Officer Basic Training Starts Actuals | Other Ranks Basic Training Starts Actuals |
2023-24 Quarter 1 | 960 | 150 | 810 |
2023-24 Quarter 2 | 2,120 | 270 | 1,850 |
Notes/caveats:
- These figures are for the Regular Army Only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Army Reserve and all other Reserves, but includes those personnel that have transferred from GURTAM to UKTAP.
- Basic Training Start figures only include personnel who entered Phase 1 training.
- 2023-24 Quarter 1 includes figures from 01 April 2023 to 30 June 2023.
- 2023-24 Quarter 2 includes figures from 01 July 2023 to 30 September 2023.
- Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes; numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
- Totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not appear to be the sum of their parts.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) officers and (b) other ranks were recruited into the British Army in each of the first three quarters of 2023-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) officers and (b) other ranks were recruited into the British Army in each of the first three quarters of 2023-24.
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 January to Question 7264 from the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (Mr Healey) which shows the Basic Training Starts for British Army Officer and Other Ranks for financial year 2022-23.
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-12-18/7264
The below table shows how many Officers and Other Ranks were recruited into the British Army in Q1 & Q2 2023-24. The figures for Q3 2023-24 are not yet available.
Financial year | Total basic Training starts Actuals | Officer Basic Training Starts Actuals | Other Ranks Basic Training Starts Actuals |
2023-24 Quarter 1 | 960 | 150 | 810 |
2023-24 Quarter 2 | 2,120 | 270 | 1,850 |
Notes/caveats:
- These figures are for the Regular Army Only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Army Reserve and all other Reserves, but includes those personnel that have transferred from GURTAM to UKTAP.
- Basic Training Start figures only include personnel who entered Phase 1 training.
- 2023-24 Quarter 1 includes figures from 01 April 2023 to 30 June 2023.
- 2023-24 Quarter 2 includes figures from 01 July 2023 to 30 September 2023.
- Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes; numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
- Totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not appear to be the sum of their parts.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total cost of the Army Recruiting contract between his Department and Capita is.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total cost of the Army Recruiting contract between his Department and Capita is.
The current value of the Capita contract to March 2026 is £1.12 billion.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Statement of 16 January 2023 on Ukraine: Update, Official Report columns 35 to 37, whether he plans to declare any of the systems intended for the British Army mentioned in the Statement as Urgent Operational Requirements.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Statement of 16 January 2023 on Ukraine: Update, Official Report columns 35 to 37, whether he plans to declare any of the systems intended for the British Army mentioned in the Statement as Urgent Operational Requirements.
Urgent Operational Requirements are now referred to as 'Urgent Capability Requirements.'
There are currently no plans to declare any of the systems intended for the Army as Urgent Capability Requirements, however we are looking to accelerate delivery where appropriate.