Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Twist Excerpts

Monday 5th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mark Lancaster]

My hon. Friend makes a very important point. It is absolutely right that hard power is an important part of maintaining our defence and security. Indeed, the vice-chief of the defence staff said the same last week, and he made a strong case for spending more on defence. Our armed forces and our civilians in defence must and do work in partnership with other Departments in international development and, indeed, diplomacy.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

14. What steps he is taking to monitor the performance of the recruiting partnering project with Capita.

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

I continue to monitor the recruiting partnering project very closely.

[Liz Twist]

Recruiting people into our armed forces today is more important than ever. The Defence Secretary said recently: “We’re working closely with Capita to make the contract work better”. Can the Minister give some specific examples of that work? How will he assess whether performance has improved, and in what timeframe?

[Mark Lancaster]

Defence has been working closely with Capita on a recruitment improvement plan, which is now being implemented. Initial signs are promising. We now expect Capita to deliver on improvements in converting applicants to enlistees. We will monitor progress closely in the coming months, including ensuring that the new defence recruiting system reaches full operating capability as quickly as possible.