Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of Capita’s performance in armed forces recruitment since March 2022.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 17 December 2024 to Question 19640 to the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois).
The new Government inherited a crisis in retention and recruitment. We have made it a priority to address this with a series of work streams designed to increase recruitment and renew the contract between the nation and those who serve to improve retention. Recruiting and retention remain one of our highest priorities - the Army/Capita Recruiting Partnering Project is completely focusedon delivering a significant increase in recruitment in 2024-25.
Working in a collaborative partnership, the Army and Capita have robust contract management measures, including Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and penalty deductions where KPIs are not met, to monitor performance against contractual requirements. However, as I am sure the right hon. Member will understand, detailed contractual arrangements, including performance measures, are not routinely disclosed by the Department in order to protect the commercial interests of all parties.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to tackle challenges in meeting military recruitment targets.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The new Government is focused upon improving Armed Forces recruitment, modernising and refining our policies and processes to attract the best possible talent.
Recent policies have included a 35% pay increase for new recruits; one of the largest pay increases in the last 20 years for existing personnel; scrapping over 100 outdated medical policies; a commitment to create a new military direct-entry cyber pathway; and setting an ambition to make a conditional offer of employment to candidates within 10 days, and a provisional training start date within 30 days.
These activities and their impacts will inform the development of the Armed Forces Recruitment Service which is being implemented to further improve the speed with which highly motivated and capable people can join our Armed Forces.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to incorporate feedback from (a) military personnel and (b) applicants to improve the recruitment process managed by Capita.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
There are various mechanisms through which both Serving military personnel, and applicants, can provide feedback on the Army’s recruitment process.
This includes an annual Recruit Training Survey and Officer Cadet Survey, which include a list of recruitment questions that are asked when Army recruits leave Basic Training. Army applicants are also asked for feedback at multiple points during the recruitment process via the ‘Voice of the Candidate’ surveys run by Capita Recruiting Group.
The feedback provided is regularly reviewed to improve processes, experiences, and ultimately conversion rates throughout the recruitment journey.
On 6 February 2025 we announced the award of the contract for the new tri-service Armed Forces Recruiting Service (AFRS). It will provide a streamlined, single-entry point for prospective recruits, with the aim of attracting the best talent from across the country into the Armed Forces. The service will launch in 2027, replacing the individual schemes run by the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the planning system in supporting the rollout of electric vehicle charging points.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Nationally set permitted development rights enable the installation of electric vehicle charge points without the need to submit a planning application, subject to certain conditions.
In its response to the Climate Change Committee’s 2024 progress report published on 17 December last year, the government made clear that it intended to amend these rights to further support the roll out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that transport issues should be considered from the earliest stages of plan-making and development proposals, so that opportunities from changing transport technology and usage are realised. The NPPF also sets out that applications for development should be designed to enable charging of plug-in vehicles in safe, accessible and convenient locations.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with representatives of the devolved administrations on supporting economic development in pan-regional economies that are also cross-border economies.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK Government and the Department of Business and Trade engages regularly with devolved governments on all aspects of economic development, including at the Business and Industry Inter-Ministerial Group.
The inaugural meeting of the Council of Nations and Regions took place in Edinburgh in October 2024. The Council brings together the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister with the leaders of the devolved governments and the mayors of combined authorities to facilitate collaboration on cross-cutting challenges including the core mission of securing economic growth.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Work Capability Assessments were carried out (a) face-to-face, (b) remotely and (c) on paper in each month since March 2020.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number and proportion of Work Capability Assessments carried out face-to-face, remotely (by telephone and video) and by paper each month since March 2020 can be found in the tables below.
March 2020 to December 2020
Month | Face-to-Face | Telephone | Video | Paper-Based | ||||
| Number | Proportion | Number | Proportion | Number | Proportion | Number | Proportion |
Mar-20 | 33,200 | 62.4% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 20,000 | 37.6% |
Apr-20 | 0 | 0.0% | 200 | 1.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 19,000 | 99.0% |
May-20 | 0 | 0.0% | 1,000 | 4.7% | 0 | 0.0% | 20,200 | 95.3% |
Jun-20 | 0 | 0.0% | 8,500 | 42.3% | 0 | 0.0% | 11,600 | 57.7% |
Jul-20 | 0 | 0.0% | 13,200 | 58.7% | 0 | 0.0% | 9,300 | 41.3% |
Aug-20 | 0 | 0.0% | 14,000 | 66.7% | 0 | 0.0% | 7,000 | 33.3% |
Sep-20 | 0 | 0.0% | 24,600 | 76.4% | 0 | 0.0% | 7,600 | 23.6% |
Oct-20 | 0 | 0.0% | 33,400 | 79.5% | 0 | 0.0% | 8,600 | 20.5% |
Nov-20 | 0 | 0.0% | 31,100 | 79.3% | 0 | 0.0% | 8,100 | 20.7% |
Dec-20 | 0 | 0.0% | 30,700 | 81.4% | 100 | 0.3% | 6,900 | 18.3% |
2021
Month | Face-to-Face | Telephone | Video | Paper-Based | ||||
| Number | Proportion | Number | Proportion | Number | Proportion | Number | Proportion |
Jan-21 | 0 | 0.0% | 33,000 | 82.9% | 100 | 0.3% | 6,700 | 16.8% |
Feb-21 | 0 | 0.0% | 36,200 | 84.0% | 100 | 0.2% | 6,800 | 15.8% |
Mar-21 | 0 | 0.0% | 50,200 | 86.3% | 200 | 0.3% | 7,800 | 13.4% |
Apr-21 | 0 | 0.0% | 45,000 | 85.9% | 0 | 0.0% | 7,400 | 14.1% |
May-21 | 700 | 1.4% | 41,800 | 84.8% | 0 | 0.0% | 6,800 | 13.8% |
Jun-21 | 3,700 | 6.9% | 42,700 | 80.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 7,000 | 13.1% |
Jul-21 | 4,000 | 8.2% | 38,300 | 78.6% | 100 | 0.2% | 6,300 | 12.9% |
Aug-21 | 1,400 | 3.0% | 37,500 | 81.0% | 800 | 1.7% | 6,600 | 14.3% |
Sep-21 | 1,200 | 2.5% | 37,200 | 77.0% | 2,600 | 5.4% | 7,300 | 15.1% |
Oct-21 | 1,600 | 3.6% | 33,600 | 74.7% | 3,300 | 7.3% | 6,500 | 14.4% |
Nov-21 | 6,200 | 12.3% | 33,200 | 65.7% | 3,400 | 6.7% | 7,700 | 15.2% |
Dec-21 | 5,400 | 12.1% | 30,200 | 67.7% | 2,900 | 6.5% | 6,100 | 13.7% |
2022
Month | Face-to-Face | Telephone | Video | Paper-Based | ||||
| Number | Proportion | Number | Proportion | Number | Proportion | Number | Proportion |
Jan-22 | 300 | 0.6% | 43,100 | 79.8% | 4,000 | 7.4% | 6,600 | 12.2% |
Feb-22 | 3,700 | 6.9% | 38,000 | 71.2% | 4,200 | 7.9% | 7,500 | 14.0% |
Mar-22 | 8,100 | 14.0% | 37,500 | 64.9% | 4,700 | 8.1% | 7,500 | 13.0% |
Apr-22 | 7,200 | 15.0% | 30,500 | 63.7% | 3,600 | 7.5% | 6,600 | 13.8% |
May-22 | 9,000 | 16.3% | 35,200 | 63.9% | 3,800 | 6.9% | 7,100 | 12.9% |
Jun-22 | 7,400 | 15.4% | 31,200 | 64.7% | 3,500 | 7.3% | 6,100 | 12.7% |
Jul-22 | 7,400 | 15.3% | 31,500 | 64.9% | 3,200 | 6.6% | 6,400 | 13.2% |
Aug-22 | 8,200 | 16.0% | 32,500 | 63.6% | 3,800 | 7.4% | 6,600 | 12.9% |
Sep-22 | 7,400 | 15.0% | 31,800 | 64.5% | 3,700 | 7.5% | 6,400 | 13.0% |
Oct-22 | 7,500 | 14.2% | 35,300 | 66.6% | 3,900 | 7.4% | 6,300 | 11.9% |
Nov-22 | 8,600 | 14.8% | 38,700 | 66.5% | 4,100 | 7.0% | 6,800 | 11.7% |
Dec-22 | 6,400 | 14.2% | 30,800 | 68.1% | 3,200 | 7.1% | 4,800 | 10.6% |
2023
Month | Face-to-Face | Telephone | Video | Paper-Based | ||||
| Number | Proportion | Number | Proportion | Number | Proportion | Number | Proportion |
Jan-23 | 8,600 | 14.4% | 40,300 | 67.4% | 4,600 | 7.7% | 6,300 | 10.5% |
Feb-23 | 8,200 | 13.9% | 40,600 | 68.6% | 4,100 | 6.9% | 6,300 | 10.6% |
Mar-23 | 9,100 | 13.7% | 45,200 | 68.3% | 4,600 | 6.9% | 7,300 | 11.0% |
Apr-23 | 6,600 | 12.3% | 37,900 | 70.8% | 3,600 | 6.7% | 5,400 | 10.1% |
May-23 | 7,400 | 12.8% | 40,300 | 70.0% | 4,000 | 6.9% | 5,900 | 10.2% |
Jun-23 | 7,600 | 12.1% | 44,600 | 70.9% | 4,300 | 6.8% | 6,400 | 10.2% |
Jul-23 | 7,000 | 11.7% | 41,600 | 69.6% | 3,900 | 6.5% | 7,300 | 12.2% |
Aug-23 | 6,600 | 10.6% | 42,300 | 67.8% | 4,100 | 6.6% | 9,400 | 15.1% |
Sep-23 | 5,700 | 9.5% | 39,900 | 66.6% | 4,100 | 6.8% | 10,200 | 17.0% |
Oct-23 | 3,900 | 7.9% | 33,900 | 68.8% | 3,000 | 6.1% | 8,500 | 17.2% |
Nov-23 | 6,700 | 10.9% | 42,500 | 69.0% | 4,000 | 6.5% | 8,400 | 13.6% |
Dec-23 | 5,800 | 12.1% | 32,600 | 68.2% | 3,600 | 7.5% | 5,800 | 12.1% |
2024
Month | Face-to-Face | Telephone | Video | Paper-Based | ||||
| Number | Proportion | Number | Proportion | Number | Proportion | Number | Proportion |
Jan-24 | 8,300 | 12.4% | 45,200 | 67.5% | 5,000 | 7.5% | 8,500 | 12.7% |
Feb-24 | 9,000 | 13.5% | 44,400 | 66.4% | 5,300 | 7.9% | 8,200 | 12.3% |
Mar-24 | 8,100 | 13.0% | 40,800 | 65.6% | 5,500 | 8.8% | 7,800 | 12.5% |
Apr-24 | 8,500 | 13.0% | 43,500 | 66.5% | 5,600 | 8.6% | 7,800 | 11.9% |
May-24 | 6,500 | 10.0% | 45,700 | 70.4% | 5,700 | 8.8% | 7,000 | 10.8% |
Jun-24 | 5,800 | 10.1% | 40,100 | 69.7% | 4,700 | 8.2% | 6,900 | 12.0% |
Jul-24 | 5,000 | 7.5% | 45,900 | 69.2% | 6,700 | 10.1% | 8,700 | 13.1% |
Aug-24 | 3,800 | 6.9% | 39,300 | 71.3% | 5,200 | 9.4% | 6,800 | 12.3% |
Sep-24 | 3,600 | 7.0% | 39,900 | 77.8% | 1,300 | 2.5% | 6,500 | 12.7% |
Oct-24 | 5,500 | 9.2% | 41,500 | 69.4% | 4,400 | 7.4% | 8,400 | 14.0% |
Nov-24 | 5,100 | 9.2% | 38,500 | 69.2% | 4,200 | 7.6% | 7,800 | 14.0% |
Dec-24 | 4,600 | 10.4% | 31,200 | 70.4% | 2,900 | 6.5% | 5,600 | 12.6% |
Please Note
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans his Department has to support the development of pan-national economies that cut across the borders of the nations of the UK in (a) South Wales and Western England and (b) other areas.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This government is committed to an agenda of national growth and the UK’s new Industrial Strategy, a 10-year plan for growth due to be published in Spring, will be designed and implemented in lockstep with local and regional leaders.
In addition, HMG has announced the Council of Nations and Regions, supporting cross-border collaboration bringing together the PM and the DPM with the heads of the devolved governments and the mayors of combined authorities, to consider shared opportunities across the UK.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Departmental have had with the Welsh Government on supporting pan-regional economies that overlap the borders of England and Wales.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
Growth is the number one mission of the government, and our new industrial strategy is central to that mission. The Industrial Strategy will drive growth, create a pro-business environment and support high-potential clusters across the UK, including cross border clusters.
I regularly meet the First Minister to discuss a variety of issues, including economic growth and the Industrial Strategy.
In addition, officials from the Wales Office, the Department for Business and Trade, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Welsh Government and HM Treasury are working closely on the Industrial Strategy. This work includes active consideration of opportunities that straddle the border between England and Wales.