The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Andrew Robathan)
The Defence Youth Engagement Review (YER) was completed late last year and, since then, the Ministry of Defence (MOD), assisted by other Departments and key stakeholders, has been developing its response. The review considered all aspects of defence youth engagement, including the award winning Education Outreach programme where MOD officials mentor young people. However, given their size and dominance, the review concentrated on the cadet forces.
I am delighted to inform the House that the review concluded that there is little wrong with our cadet forces at the detachment level; with over 3,300 units and 140,000 cadets spread across the UK. A copy of the review will be placed in the Library of the House.
The single services are justifiably proud of their association with the individual cadet forces and there is no intention to create a joint cadet force, although the review did point out some structural issues including the need for a more joined up approach from the MOD down to regional level. Following the YER, four key areas have been prioritised for further work; reviewing adult volunteers’ terms and conditions of service, reviewing cadet activity in schools, addressing the issues and duplication of the Management Information Systems, and exploring options to expand the cadet forces. The House will be aware of the Prime Minister’s announcement, as part of Armed Forces Day, that funding has been made available by the Government to open 100 new cadet units in state funded secondary schools by 2015.
The review also challenged us to consider how defence would engage with the National Citizen Service and to develop an expansion plan. Following discussions with the Cabinet Office and the Department for Education, over 600 cadets will join a tailored trial of NCS this summer.
Finally, the review highlights the excellent work done by our 26,000 cadet force adult volunteers. I believe we all owe them a debt of gratitude for their unstinting efforts to develop tomorrow’s citizens.