Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Hanson of Flint Excerpts

Monday 14th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mark Lancaster]

It is very much within the agreement. Equally, this is a priority, which is precisely why we are investing £1.9 billion in it over coming years.

[David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

13. What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Capita’s Army recruitment contract.

[John Grogan (Keighley) (Lab)]

17. What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Capita’s Army recruitment contract.

[The Minister for the Armed Forces (Mark Lancaster)]

The Army is working closely with Capita, with multiple interventions now in place and delivering improvements. Regular soldier applications are at a five-year high, supported by last year’s award-winning “This is Belonging” marketing campaign. It will take longer to see increases in trained strength due to the length of the recruitment and training pipelines.

[David Hanson]

This contract has underperformed. How much would it cost to cancel it, and why is the Minister not considering that as a key option?

[Mark Lancaster]

There are certainly alternative plans in place should this contract not perform, and the Secretary of State has made it absolutely clear that he has not ruled that out. However, I am pleased that in recent months, after interventions by Capita, we have seen a dramatic improvement in the contract. One of the indications of that is that applications are now at a five-year high.