B

Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 21 May 2025

Debate

Armed Forces Recruitment

Contribution

We did; noble Lords have discussed this in your Lordships’ House many times. However, since July, we have taken decisive measures on both recruitment and retention. On the recent statistics, Armed Forces inflow has increased by 20% compared with the previous 12 months. The Army currently has a seven-year high in application volumes, the Royal Navy yearly recruitment target has been exceeded, and RAF applications are up by 34%. However, we still have a huge amount of work to do. That is why, specifically on retention, it is such an important step forward that we have introduced new retention teams, which hold exit interviews to work with service personnel to see whether we can help them overcome their reasons for leaving. We spend a huge amount of money on training our Armed Forces personnel; it is important that we make sure they stay.

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