Oral Answers to Questions

Adam Holloway Excerpts

Monday 21st February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Leo Docherty]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. We are actively considering recruiting people with neurodiversity, because of their capacity for working in the cyber sphere. I am pleased that he has raised this issue, and I can confirm that we are actively looking at it.

[Adam Holloway (Gravesham) (Con)]

18. What steps his Department is taking to improve (a) recruitment and (b) retention in the officer corps of the Army Reserve.

[The Minister for Defence People and Veterans (Leo Docherty)]

The new Army Reserve under the future soldier programme will improve recruitment and retention across the whole reserve force. We are doing that by improving the offer and giving young officers and reserve soldiers the opportunity to train and deploy with regulars, globally and nationally.

[Adam Holloway]

Does my hon. Friend accept that reserve officers join in order to have opportunities to deploy and train, commanding in formed units? Why does the future soldier narrative prioritise individual augmentation over deploying formed bodies for overseas roles short of all-out war?