Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the percentage shortfalls are for each pinch point trade in the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force (i) as of 12 May 2022 and (ii) in each of the last five years.

In 2015 Ministers agreed that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) would no longer release detailed information on Pinch Points into the public domain as it could be of advantage to potential adversaries and thereby impact national security. MOD provides broad information on skills gaps as part of the Annual Report and Accounts each year, the latest edition of which can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-defence-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021