Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions her Department has had with relevant stakeholders on (a) the Armed Forces Covenant and (b) the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme.

In developing policy to support putting the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law, we have been, and remain, actively engaged with a range of stakeholders across the UK. These include Devolved Governments and Covenant partners across Government, the Armed Forces community, local authorities, and the service charity and welfare sectors; over 150 organisations have taken part in roundtable discussions and workshops.

This forms part of an extensive research and engagement programme to both identify areas where the Armed Forces community may experience disadvantage and to design the extended Covenant Duty to address this. Active engagement concerning the Employer Recognition Scheme continues similarly.

At recent Mansion House events such as the Lord Mayor’s City Breakfast (21 July 2025) and the Defence and Security Lecture (20 October 2025), the Secretary of State championed the need for more organisations to engage with both the Armed Forces Covenant and the Employer Recognition Scheme, whilst thanking those already involved for their commitment and continued advocacy.