Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the 2017 UK Regular Armed Forces Continuous Attitudes Survey Results 2017, published on 25 May 2017, what the reasons are for the fall in morale in the army over the last 12 months.

The Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey is key to our understanding of how Service personnel feel about the issues which affect their lives. The results are used by the Defence Board and the Executive Committee of the Army Board to shape and improve evidence-based personnel policies.

44% of Officers and 39% of Other Ranks rate their own morale as high and this has been stable for personnel over recent years. We recognise that more remains to be done, and we will continue to strive to ensure that all our Armed Forces personnel feel valued and that their contribution and sacrifice is recognised. This includes through the Armed Forces Covenant and Armed Forces People programme.