Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Defence Business Service workplace programme on workers with protected characteristics.

Equality Impact Assessments which cover protected characteristics have been undertaken and updated as part of the options evaluation process that culminated in the approval of a final business case in July 2022. The Assessment was most recently updated in September 2022 with feedback from the Trade Unions and members of the staff Equality & Diversity network. It will be regularly reviewed in consultation with TUs and staff representatives throughout the lifecycle of the programme.