Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Halton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2021 to Question 170542 on armed forces: officers, (a) when and (b) for what reasons his Department stopped collecting information identifying the (i) state and (ii) private school background of successful applicants for scholarships.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is not aware of any historical policy to record the school status of recipients of scholarships and bursaries. Such awards have always been made on the basis of merit alone and, as such, there continues to be no business reason for the MOD to create a central record of school status.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Halton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2021 to Question 170542, whether the Defence Recruiting System records the school or college of applicants; and if he will he publish the number of successful applicants by school or college for the last five years.
Answered by James Heappey
As part of the application process to the Armed Forces, the Defence Recruiting System records the names of schools attended by applicants. However, the requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Halton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of officer cadets entering Sandhurst in the last 10 years attended (a) state and (b) private school.
Answered by James Heappey
The table below shows the proportion of officer cadets entering Sandhurst in the last 10 years who attended independent and state schools:
This data has been provided from a single service source rather than official statistics produced by Defence Statistics as they do not collate this information.
| Teaining Year | Independent Schools % | State Schools % |
| 2011-12 | 44 | 56 |
| 2012-13 | 47 | 53 |
| 2013-14 | 43 | 57 |
| 2014-15 | 40 | 60 |
| 2015-16 | 40 | 60 |
| 2016-17 | 42 | 58 |
| 2017-18 | 43 | 57 |
| 2018-19 | 48 | 52 |
| 2019-20 | 43 | 57 |
| 2020-21 | 44 | 56 |
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Halton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many one star and above officer's attended state schools as a total of those currently serving in the armed forces.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Halton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March to Question 164354, if he will make it his policy to keep information centrally on the (a) number and (b) value of scholarships and bursaries awarded by the Department, and whether the recipients are pupils or ex-pupils of (i) state and (ii) private schools.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Ministry of Defence keeps accurate records of the number and value of scholarships and bursaries awarded. However, the Defence Recruiting System has no field to record the status of a school i.e. state or private. This means that a determination as to school status would require every case to be manually opened and individual documents scrutinised.
Awards of scholarships and bursaries are made on merit alone and the status of an applicant’s school has no bearing on the outcome of any decisions. For that reason, the Department has no plans to create a central record of the school status of recipients of scholarships and bursaries.
The single Services have provided the following information on bursaries and scholarships:
Naval Service:
| Bursaries | Total Value of Bursaries | Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme (DTUS) | Total value of DTUS | Scholarships | Total Value of Scholarships |
2017 | 16 | £51,500 | 40 | £160,000 | 10 | £10,500 |
2018 | 17 | £50,500 | 23 | £92,000 | 11 | £16,500 |
2019 | 17 | £50,500 | 33 | £132,000 | 16 | £24,000 |
2020 | 3 | £9,500 | 41 | £164,000 | 1 | £1,500 |
Note: information from 2016 is not held.
Army:
| Bursaries |
2015-16 | 59 |
2016-17 | 110 |
2017-18 | 133 |
2018-19 | 109 |
2019-20 | 130 |
Note: figures for 2016-17 are for Standard Bursary awards only. Figures for all other years also include Technical Bursary and Enhanced Bursary awards
Professionally Qualified Officer (Medical) Bursaries 2016-2019
Year | Doctors | Dentist | Vets | Nurses | Soldier Nurses | Total Awards |
2016 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 1 | N/A | 27 |
2017 | 32 | 2 | 3 | 1 | N/A | 38 |
2018 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 4 | N/A | 34 |
2019 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 38 |
Army Officer Scholarship Scheme Awards 2015-2019
Year | Scholarship |
2015 | 61 |
2016 | 40 |
2017 | 37 |
2018 | 73 |
2019 | 59 |
In the time available, the Army have not been able to provide complete financial information for 2016-17 and 2017-18. In addition, all the following figures are approximate:
Army Spend on Bursaries and Scholarships 2016-17 to 2019-20
2016-17 – £930,000
2017-18 – £1.4 million
2018-19 – £3 million
2019-20 – £3.8 million
Royal Air Force (RAF):
In each of the last five Financial Years (FY, 2016-17 to 2020-21) the RAF have awarded 100 university bursaries. The total value of these bursaries in each FY was approximately £850,000 to £900,000.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Halton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2021 to Question 164354 on Armed Forces: Officers, what data his Department holds on the award of (a) sixth form scholarships, (b) university bursaries and (c) other bursaries by his Department.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Ministry of Defence keeps accurate records of the number and value of scholarships and bursaries awarded. However, the Defence Recruiting System has no field to record the status of a school i.e. state or private. This means that a determination as to school status would require every case to be manually opened and individual documents scrutinised.
Awards of scholarships and bursaries are made on merit alone and the status of an applicant’s school has no bearing on the outcome of any decisions. For that reason, the Department has no plans to create a central record of the school status of recipients of scholarships and bursaries.
The single Services have provided the following information on bursaries and scholarships:
Naval Service:
| Bursaries | Total Value of Bursaries | Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme (DTUS) | Total value of DTUS | Scholarships | Total Value of Scholarships |
2017 | 16 | £51,500 | 40 | £160,000 | 10 | £10,500 |
2018 | 17 | £50,500 | 23 | £92,000 | 11 | £16,500 |
2019 | 17 | £50,500 | 33 | £132,000 | 16 | £24,000 |
2020 | 3 | £9,500 | 41 | £164,000 | 1 | £1,500 |
Note: information from 2016 is not held.
Army:
| Bursaries |
2015-16 | 59 |
2016-17 | 110 |
2017-18 | 133 |
2018-19 | 109 |
2019-20 | 130 |
Note: figures for 2016-17 are for Standard Bursary awards only. Figures for all other years also include Technical Bursary and Enhanced Bursary awards
Professionally Qualified Officer (Medical) Bursaries 2016-2019
Year | Doctors | Dentist | Vets | Nurses | Soldier Nurses | Total Awards |
2016 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 1 | N/A | 27 |
2017 | 32 | 2 | 3 | 1 | N/A | 38 |
2018 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 4 | N/A | 34 |
2019 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 38 |
Army Officer Scholarship Scheme Awards 2015-2019
Year | Scholarship |
2015 | 61 |
2016 | 40 |
2017 | 37 |
2018 | 73 |
2019 | 59 |
In the time available, the Army have not been able to provide complete financial information for 2016-17 and 2017-18. In addition, all the following figures are approximate:
Army Spend on Bursaries and Scholarships 2016-17 to 2019-20
2016-17 – £930,000
2017-18 – £1.4 million
2018-19 – £3 million
2019-20 – £3.8 million
Royal Air Force (RAF):
In each of the last five Financial Years (FY, 2016-17 to 2020-21) the RAF have awarded 100 university bursaries. The total value of these bursaries in each FY was approximately £850,000 to £900,000.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Halton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) sixth form scholarships, (b) university bursaries and (c) other bursaries have been awarded by his Department in each of the last five years; and what the total value of those scholarships and bursaries were in each of those years.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Ministry of Defence keeps accurate records of the number and value of scholarships and bursaries awarded. However, the Defence Recruiting System has no field to record the status of a school i.e. state or private. This means that a determination as to school status would require every case to be manually opened and individual documents scrutinised.
Awards of scholarships and bursaries are made on merit alone and the status of an applicant’s school has no bearing on the outcome of any decisions. For that reason, the Department has no plans to create a central record of the school status of recipients of scholarships and bursaries.
The single Services have provided the following information on bursaries and scholarships:
Naval Service:
| Bursaries | Total Value of Bursaries | Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme (DTUS) | Total value of DTUS | Scholarships | Total Value of Scholarships |
2017 | 16 | £51,500 | 40 | £160,000 | 10 | £10,500 |
2018 | 17 | £50,500 | 23 | £92,000 | 11 | £16,500 |
2019 | 17 | £50,500 | 33 | £132,000 | 16 | £24,000 |
2020 | 3 | £9,500 | 41 | £164,000 | 1 | £1,500 |
Note: information from 2016 is not held.
Army:
| Bursaries |
2015-16 | 59 |
2016-17 | 110 |
2017-18 | 133 |
2018-19 | 109 |
2019-20 | 130 |
Note: figures for 2016-17 are for Standard Bursary awards only. Figures for all other years also include Technical Bursary and Enhanced Bursary awards
Professionally Qualified Officer (Medical) Bursaries 2016-2019
Year | Doctors | Dentist | Vets | Nurses | Soldier Nurses | Total Awards |
2016 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 1 | N/A | 27 |
2017 | 32 | 2 | 3 | 1 | N/A | 38 |
2018 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 4 | N/A | 34 |
2019 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 38 |
Army Officer Scholarship Scheme Awards 2015-2019
Year | Scholarship |
2015 | 61 |
2016 | 40 |
2017 | 37 |
2018 | 73 |
2019 | 59 |
In the time available, the Army have not been able to provide complete financial information for 2016-17 and 2017-18. In addition, all the following figures are approximate:
Army Spend on Bursaries and Scholarships 2016-17 to 2019-20
2016-17 – £930,000
2017-18 – £1.4 million
2018-19 – £3 million
2019-20 – £3.8 million
Royal Air Force (RAF):
In each of the last five Financial Years (FY, 2016-17 to 2020-21) the RAF have awarded 100 university bursaries. The total value of these bursaries in each FY was approximately £850,000 to £900,000.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Halton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) sixth form scholarships, (b) university bursaries and (c) other bursaries were awarded in each of the last five years to pupils or ex-pupils of (i) state and (ii) private schools for officer candidates.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Halton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will delay the discharge of service leavers who are being discharged on medical grounds, after suffering injuries sustained whilst on operations, until they have received their full entitlement to resettlement support.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
A bespoke service is provided for the most vulnerable leavers through the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) resettlement pathway.?This function is called CTP Assist and delivers an individualised, needs-based service to those?Service personnel who face the greatest barriers to employment as a consequence of their medical conditions.?This comprehensive employment support is made available to all Service personnel subject to medical discharge in order to maximise their?successful transition to civilian life. The single Services take account of individual requirements and revise individual plans as appropriate, ensuring the serviceperson can utilise all their entitlements prior to their exit date. Requests to extend exit dates are considered on a case-by-case basis, to ensure individuals can complete recovery and resettlement activities.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Halton)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he will take to ensure service leavers who have had their resettlement workshops and courses cancelled as a result of the covid-19 outbreak are able to receive their full resettlement support before leaving service.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The resettlement services provided by the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) Career Transition Partnership's (CTP) ten Resettlement Centres and Resettlement Training Centre have all now reopened and training is taking place using a 'blended' approach that uses both virtual and face to face learning, albeit social distancing requirements have significantly reduced training capacity.
In recognition of this, CTP and MOD have taken a number of actions to ensure Service leavers and veterans are not disadvantaged; Service leavers who are in their final six months of Service, or who are being medically discharged, are being prioritised and access to CTP services has been extended by three months (in addition to the existing 24 months) to 27 months post-discharge to reflect the current disruption. In addition. all three single Services have introduced measures which allow personnel currently serving to request an extension of Service of between six and twelve months or to rescind a previous request to voluntarily leave the Armed Forces during the COVID-19 outbreak.