Question follow-through · 86791

Armed Forces: Recruitment

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to raise the minimum age of military recruitment to 18.

answeredMinistry of Defence

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: 30 Oct 2025
Target answer date: 3 Nov 2025
Answer: 10 Nov 2025 · 11 calendar days after tabling

Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.

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

30 Oct 2025
Question tabled
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to raise the minimum age of military recruitment to 18.
3 Nov 2025
Target answer date
Date supplied by the official written-questions record.
10 Nov 2025
Answer published
The Armed Forces have no plans to raise the minimum age of recruitment. All recruitment into the UK military is voluntary and no young person under the age of 18 years may join our Armed Forces unless their application is accompanied by the formal written...

Open official record

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.