Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of applications to enlist in the Army were rejected in each of the last five years, broken down by the reason for rejection.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Reason | Recruiting Year (RY) 19/20 | RY 20/21 | RY 21/22 | RY 22/23 |
Age – Over Age | 43 | 80 | 39 | 42 |
Age – Underage | 5 | ~ | 6 | 6 |
Alcohol | ~ | 0 | 13 | 19 |
Army Officer Selection Board (AOSB) Briefing Failure | ~ | 0 | ~ | 6 |
Appeal in Progress | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Appeal Outcome | 9 | 11 | 6 | ~ |
Assessment Centre Fail | 47 | 23 | 18 | 19 |
Attitude/Maturity | 80 | 128 | 106 | 93 |
Authority Rejection | 11 | 19 | 137 | 27 |
Basic Skills | 8 | 29 | ~ | 0 |
BMI | 232 | 16 | 20 | 9 |
Candidate not selected by Army Personnel Centre (APC) Glasgow | 0 | 14 | 0 | 13 |
Clearance – Care Order | 0 | ~ | 5 | ~ |
Clearance – Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) | ~ | ~ | 0 | 0 |
Clearance - Crime | ~ | 7 | 4 | 350 |
Clearance – Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) | 0 | 0 | ~ | 0 |
Clearance – Financial Issues | 0 | 0 | 0 | ~ |
Clearance – Nationality | 68 | 46 | 15 | 25 |
Clearance – Non completion of forms | 0 | 2166 | 1360 | 1140 |
Clearance – Piercings | 170 | 127 | 72 | 24 |
Clearance – Residency | 186 | 129 | 45 | 20 |
Clearance – Tattoos | 143 | 149 | 102 | 252 |
Clearance – Visa | 50 | 58 | 77 | 287 |
Commonwealth – No current vacancies | 463 | 6207 | 4832 | 4557 |
Commonwealth – Not Suitable for entry | 85 | 222 | 191 | 142 |
Consent Form not provided | ~ | 7 | ~ | ~ |
Continuing Education | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Criminal Convictions/Crime | 0 | 0 | ~ | ~ |
Current Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Delinquency/Crime | 534 | 629 | 336 | 0 |
Discipline | 9 | 5 | 5 | ~ |
Drugs | 67 | 11 | ~ | 0 |
Education | ~ | 0 | ~ | ~ |
Failed Basic Eligibility | 4750 | 279 | 260 | 280 |
Failed to Attend Event(s) | 335 | 236 | 199 | 188 |
Finance | ~ | 0 | ~ | 0 |
Fitness | 19 | 38 | 20 | 19 |
Family Origin Questionnaire Consent not given (SCT) | 0 | 0 | 25 | 19 |
Joining Other Service – Royal Air Force | 0 | 0 | ~ | ~ |
Joining Other Service – Royal Marines | 0 | 0 | ~ | ~ |
Joining Other Service – Royal Navy | 0 | 0 | 0 | ~ |
Language Ability – English Speaking & Listening | ~ | ~ | ~ | 0 |
Medical | 17443 | 18180 | 13832 | 14656 |
Motivation/Commitment | 110 | 414 | 201 | 116 |
No Vacancy Available | ~ | 7 | 176 | 37 |
Non-Productive Enquiry/Lack of Contact | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
None | ~ | ~ | 0 | 0 |
Other non-Military Employment | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
Prior Service Check Rejection | 838 | 1374 | 1055 | 671 |
Psychometric Test Result | ~ | ~ | ~ | 0 |
Refusal of Parental Consent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Start New Stream | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
Terms and Conditions of Service | 0 | 0 | 0 | ~ |
Unsuitable at Interview | 16 | 28 | 7 | ~ |
Unsuitable for Job Choice | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Waiver Refused | 7 | 8 | ~ | 0 |
Total Rejections | 25750 | 30657 | 23189 | 23100 |
Total Applications | 89114 | 90651 | 63580 | 58870 |
Rejections Percentage | 28.9% | 33.8% | 36.5% | 39.2% |
Source: Recruiting Group
Notes/Caveats:
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the employment terms and conditions were for subcontracted employees working on the facilities management contract at the Darlington Economic Campus as of 7 February 2024.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Darlington Economic Campus (DEC) receives facilities management (FM) services via the "Provision of TFM Services to GPA Sites", and this contract was awarded to ISS Mediclean Ltd under the RM3830 framework.
The Government Property Agency (GPA) ensures that their supply chain is compliant with the relevant employment legislation, including the relevant statutory staff pay rate.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of employment rights of seafarers in the (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) strives to protect and support all of its seafarers. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) team of 1,700 are employed and administered in accordance with MOD Civil Service parameters, regularly expertly reviewed and subject to independent scrutiny. In addition, the RFA are proactively modernising their suite of policies to exceed the standards of the new Seafarer's Charter.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to tackle disproportionate levels of unemployment of (a) women, (b) disabled people and (c) Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pension’s Jobcentre offer provides a range of options to those seeking employment, including face-to-face time with work coaches and interview assistance. In addition, there is specific support targeted towards young people, people aged 50 plus, ethnic minorities and disabled people and people with health conditions. There is also support for those with childcare costs through Universal Credit. The DWP Jobhelp pages [https://jobhelp.campaign.gov.uk/] provide fuller information of the help and support available. DWP also works in partnership with others, including working with the Department of Health and Social Care to provide support embedded within health systems, for example, Employment Advice in NHS Talking Therapies.
Due to rising levels of inactivity due to long-term sickness, a new package of support, building upon existing provision and the £2 billion investment announced at the Spring Budget 2023, was announced in Autumn Statement 2023. This includes:
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help people with complex disabilities find suitable employment opportunities.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has a wide range of initiatives to support disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with complex disabilities, to start, stay and succeed in work. These include:
Building on existing provision and the £2 billion investment announced at the Spring Budget 2023, we announced a new package of support in Autumn Statement 2023. This includes:
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she plans to take to help ensure equitable pay for people (a) employed by social enterprises and (b) in other sectors delivering NHS services.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Independent providers, including social enterprises, are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment. This includes the pay scales that they use and any non-consolidated pay awards they choose to make.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had discussions with leaders of social enterprises on (a) NHS sector wage policies and (b) future healthcare planning.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not had recent discussions with leaders of social enterprises. Independent providers, including social enterprises, are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to support (a) training and (b) employment for UK-resident seafarers.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
DfT remains committed to future-proofing the training and employment of UK-based seafarers.
Our work includes the ongoing delivery of the Cadet Review recommendations, a Ratings Review which considered the barriers, opportunities, and growth areas for UK ratings, support for the Maritime Training (SMarT) programme and most notably the Seafarer Protections Nine-Point Plan to boost and reform seafarer protections and welfare. As part of the plan, we have delivered the Seafarers’ Wages Act to protects those working on ships operating a regular international service to/from the UK from being paid less than the National Minimum Wage while in UK territorial waters.
We launched the Seafarers’ Charter on 24 July 2023 which sets higher standards for working conditions than international minimum.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress she has made on helping support adults with autism into work.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We know that most autistic people want to have a job, and evidence shows that they bring many positive benefits to their employers. We are therefore taking positive steps to promote initiatives which help and support autistic adults to move closer to the labour market and into employment.
The Buckland Review into Autism Employment focused on increasing the number of autistic people in high-quality and sustainable employment. Specifically, it focused on identifying barriers preventing autistic people from securing employment, retaining employment, and growing their careers; and on recommending actions to overcome those barriers.
The evidence gathering stage of the review is now complete, and the review team has drawn the evidence together into a report and recommendations, ready for publication shortly.
We are also supporting employers via Disability Confident to increase their understanding of how to recruit, retain and support disabled employees and those with long term health conditions. The scheme provides employers with the skills and knowledge to remove barriers that might be preventing disabled people, neurodivergent people and those with long term health conditions from accessing employment and allows them opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations.
The Spring Budget confirmed funding for a new employment programme called Universal Support. Universal Support will use the proven supported employment model to support inactive disabled people, people with health conditions and people with additional barriers to employment into sustained work.
In the Autumn Statement we announced that we are expanding the Universal Support scheme so it will provide support for 100k people a year once fully rolled out – increasing from 50k a year announced in Spring Budget 2023.
Eligible autistic and learning-disabled people will be able to opt in to receive up to 12 months of “place and train” support - helping them move quickly into suitable work, followed with wraparound support to help them to sustain that employment for the longer-term.
We are also continuing to run a series of programmes which include employment support for autistic people, such as the Work and Health Programme, Intensive Personalised Employment Support and Local Supported Employment.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of disabled people who are projected to move into work following the removal of the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity mobility descriptor in the Work Capability Assessment in the next (a) 12 months, (b) two years and (c) five years.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to ensuring our welfare system encourages and supports people into work, while providing a vital safety net for those who need it most.
To reflect new flexibilities in the labour market and to ensure more people are supported to move closer to work, from 2025, we will remove the Mobilising activity used to assess Limited Capability for Work- and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) in the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). To ensure that those with the most significant mobilising limitations are still protected we will retain the LCWRA Risk regulations for physical health. This means that where work preparation would lead to a deterioration in a claimant’s physical health they would still meet the eligibility criteria for LCWRA.
The changes to the WCA will come into effect from 2025 so impacts will be seen from 2025/26 onwards. The OBR judge that the cumulative rises in employment year-on-year from the removal of the LCWRA Mobilising descriptor are estimated to be 500 in 2025-26, 1,800 by 2026-27 and 5,900 by 2028-29. Adding to this, the expansion of the Universal Support scheme increases funding for placements of disabled people in existing vacancies and for a 'place and train' programme to support them. We expect this to increase employment by around 15,000 by 2028-29.
Additional support will be offered to those moving from the LCWRA group into the Limited Capability for Work (LCW) group. This includes Employment Advice in NHS talking therapies, which combines psychological treatment and employment support for people with mental health conditions, and the Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) programme, a supported employment model aimed at people with physical or common mental health disabilities to enable them to access paid jobs in the open labour market.