Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to support armed forces spouses right to work abroad in the same country as their partner.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to supporting UK Service personnel and their families.

The Armed Forces Covenant, which this Government has made a manifesto commitment to put into law, has at its heart the principle that those who serve and have served and their families should not be disadvantaged as a result of their Service. All Government Departments, not just MOD, are committed to upholding the Covenant. Improving prospects for partner employment is also a key theme of the Armed Forces Families Strategy.

One of the actions taken by Defence is funding the Armed Forces Families Fund (AF3) to support this work. Between 2022 and today, a total of £2,242 million has been granted to fund projects supporting spouses and partners of Service personnel at national, local, and unit levels, both within the UK and overseas. This includes projects providing tailored training to spouses and partners, enabling them to get back into employment.

In addition, Defence is currently working on guidance in line with the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant to encourage other Government Departments to support any employees who wish to work remotely from overseas to accompany their serving partner, so that they don’t have to compromise between their career and family life.

We are currently reviewing a number of our international arrangements to ensure that spouses of UK Service personnel are able to remain in employment when they accompany their serving partners.