Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, Is consideration being given to any form of National Service to support the Armed Forces in the lifetime of this Parliament.

The Government has no current plans to reintroduce National Service. Since 1963, it has been the policy of successive Governments that the best way of providing for the defence of our country is by maintaining professional Armed Forces recruited from volunteers. The Armed Forces today consists of highly trained, professional men and women in both our Regular and Reserve Armed Forces. We can also call on the Strategic Reserve to provide niche skills and additional mass.