Question follow-through · 30179
Armed Forces: Recruitment
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average length of time taken was between the point of application to join the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) RAF and attestation in the latest period for which data is available.
About this written question
A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.
- Answering body
- Ministry of Defence
- Tabled
- 10 Feb 2025
- Target answer date
- 12 Feb 2025
- Answer
- 18 Feb 2025 · 8 calendar days after tabling
Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.
More questions by this MP on Defence and foreign affairs
- Defence Equipment & Support and Submarine Delivery Agency: Equality · 17 Apr 2025
- RAF Brize Norton · 23 Jun 2025
- Afghanistan: Resettlement · 17 Jul 2025
- Ministry of Defence: Temporary Accommodation · 17 Jul 2025
- Afghanistan: Resettlement · 17 Jul 2025
Shared topic keywords suggest a connection; they do not establish a follow-up.
Votes on this topic
- Opposition Day Motion: Defence spending and readiness - Prime Minister's Amendment · 23 Jun 2026
- Opposition day: Defence spending and readiness · 23 Jun 2026
- Armed Forces Bill Report Stage: Amendment 11 · 22 Jun 2026
These Commons divisions share a topic label. The question did not necessarily lead to a vote.
Recorded timeline
10 Feb 2025
Question tabled
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average length of time taken was between the point of application to join the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) RAF and attestation in the latest period for which data is available.
12 Feb 2025
Target answer date
Date supplied by the official written-questions record.
18 Feb 2025
Answer published
The new Government inherited a crisis in recruitment. We have made it a priority to address this with a series of work streams designed to increase recruitment and renew the contract between the nation and those who serve to improve retention.Many factors...
Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.
Later records
Possible follow-up questions
Strong links require the same MP, department and exact heading. Other same-department questions are shown as unreviewed candidates, not as confirmed follow-ups. No debate link is asserted unless a stable source relationship exists.
Defence Equipment & Support and Submarine Delivery Agency: Equality
17 Apr 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 5 March 2024 to Question 15748, how many staff in (a) The Ministry of Defence (b) Defence Equipment & Support and (c) the Submarine Delivery Agency have email tallies which include
RAF Brize Norton
23 Jun 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there is CCTV coverage of the perimeter of RAF Brize Norton.
Afghanistan: Resettlement
17 Jul 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral statement of 15 July 2025 on Afghanistan, Official Report, column 149-152, whether the £5.5 to 6 billion lifetime cost of the Afghan resettlement schemes includes further family members
Ministry of Defence: Temporary Accommodation
17 Jul 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2024 to Question 19002 on Ministry of Defence: Temporary Accommodation, how many Afghans are being accommodated on the defence estate.
Afghanistan: Resettlement
17 Jul 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the assumptions used to generate the figure of a 5.5 to 6 billion lifetime cost of the Afghan re-settlement schemes.
Officers
29 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many serving (a) General Officers in the British Army, (b) Admirals and Flag Officers in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, (c) Air Officers of Air Rank in the Royal Air Force, (d) Commanding Officers of commi
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31 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many performance reviews were undertaken for staff in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; in how many of those cases performance was rated as unsatisfactory or below; how m
Ministry of Defence: Conditions of Employment
31 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in his Department (a) did not retain employment following the completion of their probationary period and (b) had their probationary period extended in each of the last five years.
Ministry of Defence: Termination of Employment
31 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff left his Department in each of the last five years by grade.
Ministry of Defence: Disability
31 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in his Department are recorded as having a (a) mental health condition and (b) physical disability by grade.
Ministry of Defence: Employment Tribunals Service
31 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many employment tribunal claims have been lodged against his Department by (a) unfair dismissal and (b) claims under the Equality Act 2010 in each of the last five years.
Defence Equipment & Support and Submarine Delivery Agency: Equality
10 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in (a) Defence Equipment and Support and (b) the Submarine Delivery Agency have job titles which include the words (i) equality, (ii) diversity, (iii) inclusion, (iv) gender, (v) LGBT and (vi) race