Question follow-through · 16613
Armed Forces: Recruitment
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2026 to Question 11755, what circumstances have previously been regarded as constituting a justifiable business requirement for making reference to a candidate's protected charact
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
- 7 Jul 2026
- Target answer date
- 9 Jul 2026
- Answer
- 24 Jul 2026 · 17 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
- Indo-Pacific Region: Armed Forces · 13 Jul 2026
- New Zealand: Warships · 13 Jul 2026
- Defence: UK Emissions Trading Scheme · 28 Aug 2026
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
7 Jul 2026
Question tabled
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2026 to Question 11755, what circumstances have previously been regarded as constituting a justifiable business requirement for making reference to a candidate's protected charact
9 Jul 2026
Target answer date
Date supplied by the official written-questions record.
24 Jul 2026
Answer published
Military appointments and promotions are based on merit, and protected characteristics are not used as selection criteria. Consequently, there is no centrally held record linking appointment or promotion decisions to candidates' protected characteristics....
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.
Indo-Pacific Region: Armed Forces
13 Jul 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking with the Government of New Zealand to ensure the UK Armed Forces play a present and active role in the Indo-Pacific region over the next 20 years.
New Zealand: Warships
13 Jul 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what dates vessels of the a) British Army b) Royal Navy c) Royal Air Force visited New Zealand since 1 January 2020.
Defence: UK Emissions Trading Scheme
28 Aug 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the extension of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to maritime on the resilience, costs and competitiveness of defence manufacturing and defence su