Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the target for the size of the cadets by 2030; and what funding has been put forward to achieve this.

The Strategic Defence Review, published in June 2025, recommended that MOD should expand in-school and community-based Cadet Forces across the country by 30% by 2030. This timeline has recently been re-set in the Defence Investment Plan to 2035 as one of the measures required to increase the rate of Armed Forces transformation.

There are currently just over 137,000 cadets supported by 28,000 adult volunteers. An increase of 30% in cadet numbers equates to an additional 40,000 cadets, an expansion that would also require approximately 8,000 more adult volunteers. Details of the funding necessary to support this level of growth are yet to be finalised.

Work is currently underway to set the foundations for sustainable growth and to determine how the 30% increase in cadet numbers will be delivered. And we are developing a new Cadet Action Plan, to be announced in October during the first National Cadets Week. The Plan will focus on modernising the cadet experience, providing an attractive offer to retain and recruit adult volunteers, and ensuring that cadets and volunteers have the right resources and support.