The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Philip Hammond)
I am pleased to inform the House that, following a review, women in the Royal Navy will be allowed to serve in submarines in the future.
The decision follows an 18-month thorough analysis, which included a study of legal, operational, health, social, technical, and financial issues. Key to this was the naval service’s operational effectiveness now and in the future. This decision to allow women to serve in submarines will enable the Royal Navy to maximise the deployability of its talent pool.
Recent medical research has shown that there are no risks to female health during normal submarine operations, so there are no medical reasons for excluding women from service in submarines, provided they are not pregnant. An independent peer review of this work concluded that, while there was no medical risk to women, there remains a risk to a foetus, which could emanate from the higher level of carbon dioxide in submarines in comparison to normal atmospheric conditions. There is no danger from radiation; the average annual dose of radiation accrued by Royal Navy submariners is actually less than the average annual background dose received by the general population of the UK (as submariners are not as frequently exposed to the sun). External legal counsel has advised that the scientific and medical evidence did not justify a ban on female submariners, but did require the exclusion of pregnant submariners.
Female officers will be introduced first into the Vanguard class as soon as the policy and practical changes can be made, which is expected to be towards the end of 2013, with a small number of volunteers commencing submarine training in late 2012. The first female ratings to join a Vanguard class submarine will be recruited and trained from 2014, to join sometime in 2015. Women will also be permitted to serve in the Astute class, but probably not before 2016, when the necessary modifications to accommodation and facilities have been made.