Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of trends in levels of recruitment and retention in the armed forces on operational capacity.

The current Government inherited a crisis in recruitment and retention from the last administration, and we are committed to addressing this through a range of targets, initiatives and measures.

The Ministry of Defence continually monitors the recruitment and retention trends across the Armed Forces and makes assessments of the impact these trends may have on a particular capability as well as our overall operational capabilities. I hope that the hon. Member will understand that details on operational capacity are not made public to preserve the operational security of HM Armed Forces, but improving both recruitment and retention are priority areas for Armed Forces.