Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of days taken as sick leave by (a) Royal Navy, (b) British Army, (c) Royal Air Force, (d) Maritime Reserve, (e) Army Reserve, (f) Royal Auxiliary Airforce, (g) Royal Fleet Reserve, (h) Army Reserve (Regular) and (i) Air Force Reserve personnel due to covid-19 in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) to date.

Whilst the Ministry of Defence records the medical employability and deployability of Service personnel, more specific information about the level of sickness absence in the Armed Forces is not held centrally. As at 1 June 2021, 98.6 per cent of the trained UK Armed Forces were fit to work.