Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on the upper age limit for applicants to that Academy during the covid-19 outbreak.

Candidates seeking a commission in the Regular Army should generally be over 17 years and 9 months and under 30 years on entry to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Anyone over 30 is considered on a case by case basis and age waivers can be supported. Officer recruitment is very healthy with the supply of high-quality candidates consistently meeting the demand for places. Places are filled well in advance of the intake date and due to the unique accommodation arrangements at the Academy social distancing measures are less complex to implement, meaning it continues to operate at full capacity. Covid 19 restrictions have not affected the application inflow and there has been no discussion regarding the upper age limit for applicants to the Academy during the covid-19 outbreak.