Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether each of the armed forces has diversity targets.

The Armed Forces do not have diversity targets. There are agreed Levels of Ambition for recruitment and representation of females and ethnic minority personnel.

In a competitive age, our advantage derives from the talent and skills of our people. We must attract, recruit, and retain the best people drawn from the broadest diversity of thought, skills and background – it is mission critical to our operational effectiveness and to ensuring we continue to meet the threats we face and safeguard the security, stability and prosperity of our nation.