Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to encourage the establishment of Combined Cadet Force units in state schools in (a) Kent and (b) England.

The Government wants as many pupils as possible to benefit from the life-changing activities offered by becoming a cadet, in Kent and across the rest of England. The Cadet Expansion Programme was launched in June 2012 with the aim to deliver 100 new Combined Cadet Force units in state-funded schools by September 2015. This initial target was delivered six months early, in March 2015. The Government has committed to extend the number of cadet units in UK schools to 500 by March 2020 and the Department is on track to meet this target, with 476 school cadet units established so far, which includes 14 in Kent.