Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many women have undertaken assessment and selection to join the infantry, Royal Armoured Corps, Household Cavalry and special forces units, and what percentage have passed.

No single dataset covers every stage of assessment and selection for soldiers and officers. Available recruitment assessment and later role-specific training figures are therefore set out separately. They cover different populations, stages and periods and should not be combined or directly compared.

Between Recruiting Years 2018-19 and 2025-26, the following female Regular Soldier candidates attended the Army recruitment assessment with the stated role as their first job preference. Pass rates include conditional passes.

Separate initial trade training records show that, from 2018, 132 female soldiers began training for the Royal Armoured Corps or Household Cavalry and 116 completed it (88%). All 48 female officers who began the relevant training ultimately completed it, although four passed only after returning for a further course. These are training completion outcomes, not recruitment selection pass rates. Royal Armoured Corps and Household Cavalry figures cannot be separated.

Separate records of later role-specific officer training show that, since June 2019, 24 of 30 female officers passed the tactics phase of the Infantry Platoon Commanders’ Battle Course as initial trainees (80%). Including officers seeking to transfer into the Infantry, 28 of 36 passed (78%). These course outcomes do not measure recruitment assessment or selection.