Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any member of (1) the British Armed Forces, and (2) a police force, has been sent on a leadership course run by Common Purpose; and, if so, (a) how many during each of the last 20 years, and (b) for what reason.

Information about the courses attended by the British Armed Forces personnel during the last 20 years is not held in a way which would allow a fuller answer without incuring disproportionate cost. Some records, however, show that between 2014 and 2019 six Army officers, one in each year, attended leadership development courses provided by Common Purpose. The RAF and the Royal Navy have not used programmes run by Common Purpose to train personnel.

Some individuals may have undertaken training with this company during their resettlement period on leaving the Services. The comprehensive leadership skills and qualifications attained in the Armed Forces means that such training is rarely considered necessary

Confirming this would require manually checking all service leavers’ Joint Personnel Administration records to identify, retrieve and collate the details. This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

No information is held centrally by the Home Office about external courses attended by individual police officers. Police training and development is a matter for the College of Policing and for police forces locally.