Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on (a) the armed forces recruitment process and (b) the proportion of recruits that become serving personnel in the armed forces.

In response to Covid-19, the Armed Forces have taken steps to protect recruits, personnel and the wider public, which has disrupted the normal recruitment and training pipeline. The extent of this disruption and thus the time required to resume normal activity, will vary between Services and specific cadres. The Armed Forces are currently re-establishing recruitment and training pipelines, which will allow us to assess how quickly recovery can be completed

It is too early to assess the impact of Covid-19 on future Armed Forces recruitment. Traditionally, when employment opportunities in the wider economy become more scare, Armed Forces recruitment has improved, though we are mindful not to rely on this phenomenon and are actively working to improve our 'offer' to bolster both recruitment and retention.