Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to recruit more neurodiverse graduates into the armed forces.

In a competitive age, our advantage derives from the talent and skills of our people. Attracting, recruiting, and retaining the best people drawn from the broadest diversity of thought, skills and background is mission critical to our operational effectiveness. It ensures we continue to meet the threats we face and safeguard the security, stability and prosperity of our nation. Diversity drives performance, innovation, increases creative thinking and reduces the risks of group think and lack of challenge, as highlighted in the Chilcot Review.

This Government has already begun to modernise and refine our policies and processes to attract, and then retain the best possible talent in our Armed Forces. Defence is committed to a diverse workforce, including in neurodiversity. The Defence Secretary has undertaken to review the current recruitment policies and has already announced several changes to prior outdated approaches, including medical entry standards relating to neurodiverse conditions. For example, candidates with Autism Spectrum Disorder can now join the Armed Forces, providing their symptoms have no significant impact and do not require ongoing specialist support.