Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the armed forces were dismissed for drug usage in 2020.

The misuse of drugs within the Armed Forces is considered unacceptable. It has always been the view of the Ministry of Defence that drug misuse threatens the efficiency and discipline of the Services, where individual responsibility and teamwork are essential to operate highly technical, expensive, and potentially lethal equipment. The Services campaign against drug misuse and have a comprehensive education programme to inform all personnel of the dangers and consequences of misusing drugs – including dismissal from service.

The requested information can be found in the table below:

¹ As of 9 December 2020