Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that women in the armed forces are equipped with appropriate (a) uniforms and (b) equipment.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is continually seeking to ensure all women in our Armed Forces are equipped with appropriate clothing, including uniforms, and equipment.

Following the House of Commons Defence Sub-Committee on Women in the Armed Forces report, "Protecting Those Who Protect Us: Women in the Armed Forces from Recruitment to Civilian Life" published on 25 July 2021, the MOD responded by starting work on improving the experience for women in the Armed Forces, and a branch of that was through updating clothing.

Women’s uniform and equipment is now regularly reviewed and discussed at a Defence-level working group to ensure the equal provision of safe and suitable clothing and equipment to all Service personnel to allow them to deliver their operational outputs and effects.

So far, suppliers have developed more than 85 samples across 38 key clothing items to ensure the female fit meets the requirement. New items now available to women include sports bras, Mess Dress trousers and under-body armour combat shirts.

The Tactical Ballistic Plate project will deliver hard armour plates in a range of different sizes, ensuring greater comfort and integration for all users across Defence. Successful Human Factors Integration trials have been completed across a diverse cohort, that included female representation.

Narrow-fit Scalable Tactical Vest STV are now in service, which provides improved fit and comfort for all personnel, with special measuring available for those who measure outside of the 12 sizes available.