Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the forecasted annual administration cost is of the Military Strategic Headquarters.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Military Strategic Headquarters has not been set a specific administration budget for 2025-26.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will change the eligibility requirements for bursary schemes to allow more armed forces personnel to apply.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Bursaries are available only for applicants wishing to join the Armed Forces and are not available to existing Service personnel or any others. They are offered to students in full-time education to attract high-calibre individuals to a career in Defence, aiming to mitigate future potential recruiting challenges. Responsibility for bursary schemes is delegated to the single Services and none have current plans to cancel any of the schemes or change the eligibility requirements.
The bursary schemes on offer across the Armed Forces are listed below by Service. As at 1 April 2025 there were 740 students in receipt of a bursary; we do not make estimates of how many students could be entitled to a bursary but do not choose to apply for one. The total cost of bursaries for the 2024-25 financial year was £5,641,350.50.
Army
Defence STEM Undergraduate Sponsorship Scheme (in partnership with the Defence Academy)
Standard Army Undergraduate Scheme
Enhanced Army Undergraduate Scheme
Scholarship Scheme
Royal Army Medical Services Scheme
Royal College for Army Music Scheme
Royal Air Force
University Air Squadron Bursary Scheme
Medical Cadetship Scheme
Defence STEM Undergraduate Sponsorship (in partnership with the Defence Academy)
Royal Navy / Royal Marines
Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme (Legacy Bursary Scheme)
RN Bursars (Legacy Bursary Scheme)
Defence STEM Undergraduate Scheme (in partnership with the Defence Academy)
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to end bursary schemes in the (a) Army, (b) RAF, (c) Royal Navy and (d) Royal Marines.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Bursaries are available only for applicants wishing to join the Armed Forces and are not available to existing Service personnel or any others. They are offered to students in full-time education to attract high-calibre individuals to a career in Defence, aiming to mitigate future potential recruiting challenges. Responsibility for bursary schemes is delegated to the single Services and none have current plans to cancel any of the schemes or change the eligibility requirements.
The bursary schemes on offer across the Armed Forces are listed below by Service. As at 1 April 2025 there were 740 students in receipt of a bursary; we do not make estimates of how many students could be entitled to a bursary but do not choose to apply for one. The total cost of bursaries for the 2024-25 financial year was £5,641,350.50.
Army
Defence STEM Undergraduate Sponsorship Scheme (in partnership with the Defence Academy)
Standard Army Undergraduate Scheme
Enhanced Army Undergraduate Scheme
Scholarship Scheme
Royal Army Medical Services Scheme
Royal College for Army Music Scheme
Royal Air Force
University Air Squadron Bursary Scheme
Medical Cadetship Scheme
Defence STEM Undergraduate Sponsorship (in partnership with the Defence Academy)
Royal Navy / Royal Marines
Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme (Legacy Bursary Scheme)
RN Bursars (Legacy Bursary Scheme)
Defence STEM Undergraduate Scheme (in partnership with the Defence Academy)
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Written Ministerial Statement of 1 April 2025 on Defence Reform, HCWS 573, what estimate he has made of the cost of implementing his proposed reforms.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence Reform is delivering meaningful change through a phased approach over the course of this Parliament to reform Defence. However, it is too early to capture the required level of investment in this programme of work, which we expect will deliver net benefits through changes such as more efficient procurement processes, including a reduction in waste.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 39045 on Armed Forces Covenant: Business, what the requirements are to pass the Covenant Test.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
If an organisation is alleged to have failed to uphold the values they have agreed to, the Ministry of Defence has policy in place to assess their continued suitability, known as the ‘Covenant Test’.
The key question (the Covenant Test) to be answered is: “Do (or Have) the values, views, communications, or behaviour of an organisation indicate that they do not (or can no longer) uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, or effectively demonstrate their support for the Armed Forces Community?”.
Enquiries about covenant signatories can be directed to: afcovenant@rfca.mod.uk
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) serving personnel, (b) students, (c) others were (i) entitled to and (ii) in receipt of a bursary on 1 April 2025.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Bursaries are available only for applicants wishing to join the Armed Forces and are not available to existing Service personnel or any others. They are offered to students in full-time education to attract high-calibre individuals to a career in Defence, aiming to mitigate future potential recruiting challenges. Responsibility for bursary schemes is delegated to the single Services and none have current plans to cancel any of the schemes or change the eligibility requirements.
The bursary schemes on offer across the Armed Forces are listed below by Service. As at 1 April 2025 there were 740 students in receipt of a bursary; we do not make estimates of how many students could be entitled to a bursary but do not choose to apply for one. The total cost of bursaries for the 2024-25 financial year was £5,641,350.50.
Army
Defence STEM Undergraduate Sponsorship Scheme (in partnership with the Defence Academy)
Standard Army Undergraduate Scheme
Enhanced Army Undergraduate Scheme
Scholarship Scheme
Royal Army Medical Services Scheme
Royal College for Army Music Scheme
Royal Air Force
University Air Squadron Bursary Scheme
Medical Cadetship Scheme
Defence STEM Undergraduate Sponsorship (in partnership with the Defence Academy)
Royal Navy / Royal Marines
Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme (Legacy Bursary Scheme)
RN Bursars (Legacy Bursary Scheme)
Defence STEM Undergraduate Scheme (in partnership with the Defence Academy)
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total cost to his Department was for bursary schemes in the armed forces for the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Bursaries are available only for applicants wishing to join the Armed Forces and are not available to existing Service personnel or any others. They are offered to students in full-time education to attract high-calibre individuals to a career in Defence, aiming to mitigate future potential recruiting challenges. Responsibility for bursary schemes is delegated to the single Services and none have current plans to cancel any of the schemes or change the eligibility requirements.
The bursary schemes on offer across the Armed Forces are listed below by Service. As at 1 April 2025 there were 740 students in receipt of a bursary; we do not make estimates of how many students could be entitled to a bursary but do not choose to apply for one. The total cost of bursaries for the 2024-25 financial year was £5,641,350.50.
Army
Defence STEM Undergraduate Sponsorship Scheme (in partnership with the Defence Academy)
Standard Army Undergraduate Scheme
Enhanced Army Undergraduate Scheme
Scholarship Scheme
Royal Army Medical Services Scheme
Royal College for Army Music Scheme
Royal Air Force
University Air Squadron Bursary Scheme
Medical Cadetship Scheme
Defence STEM Undergraduate Sponsorship (in partnership with the Defence Academy)
Royal Navy / Royal Marines
Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme (Legacy Bursary Scheme)
RN Bursars (Legacy Bursary Scheme)
Defence STEM Undergraduate Scheme (in partnership with the Defence Academy)
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what bursaries were available in the (a) Army, (b) RAF, (c) Royal Navy and (d) Royal Marines on 1 April 2025.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Bursaries are available only for applicants wishing to join the Armed Forces and are not available to existing Service personnel or any others. They are offered to students in full-time education to attract high-calibre individuals to a career in Defence, aiming to mitigate future potential recruiting challenges. Responsibility for bursary schemes is delegated to the single Services and none have current plans to cancel any of the schemes or change the eligibility requirements.
The bursary schemes on offer across the Armed Forces are listed below by Service. As at 1 April 2025 there were 740 students in receipt of a bursary; we do not make estimates of how many students could be entitled to a bursary but do not choose to apply for one. The total cost of bursaries for the 2024-25 financial year was £5,641,350.50.
Army
Defence STEM Undergraduate Sponsorship Scheme (in partnership with the Defence Academy)
Standard Army Undergraduate Scheme
Enhanced Army Undergraduate Scheme
Scholarship Scheme
Royal Army Medical Services Scheme
Royal College for Army Music Scheme
Royal Air Force
University Air Squadron Bursary Scheme
Medical Cadetship Scheme
Defence STEM Undergraduate Sponsorship (in partnership with the Defence Academy)
Royal Navy / Royal Marines
Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme (Legacy Bursary Scheme)
RN Bursars (Legacy Bursary Scheme)
Defence STEM Undergraduate Scheme (in partnership with the Defence Academy)
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2025 to Question 39502 on Armed Forces: Childcare, which defence sites provide opportunities for local childcare.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Defence recognises that access to appropriate childcare can be an enabler to ensure our Serving personnel are able to fully perform their duties. While it is not a core output of Defence to provide childcare, in some areas where the local provision cannot meet the demand, childcare providers make use of buildings on the Defence Estate.
The requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 39047 on Armed Forces Covenant, if he will provide a summary of the meeting of 19 March 2025.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The most recent Covenant Community Action Group meeting covered the following agenda: