Thank you for writing to me about the recruitment of young people into the UK Armed Forces, and recruitment activities in schools in Wales.
The Armed Forces make a valuable contribution to the lives of many people across Wales, the UK, and throughout many parts of the world. I am proud of the work of our serving and former Service personnel, and sincerely thank them for the support that they have provided to communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Whilst I acknowledge your concerns, I believe that it should be for schools and headteachers to decide on how they engage with a wide range of organisations in a way that gives young people a broad and balanced view of potential future career pathways. It is important that young people are presented with a wide range of information that allows them to decide on what career that they would like to achieve.
However, joining the Armed Forces can provide young people from different backgrounds with excellent opportunities to develop new transferrable skills, kickstart their career, and to make lifelong friends. Indeed, the UK Ministry of Defence is one of the UK’s largest apprenticeship providers, with all recruits under the age of 18 required to enrol in an apprenticeship. This also enables young recruits to gain a Level Two qualification in literacy and numeracy, ensuring that they are equipped with the skills that they need.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Defence owes a special duty of care to under-18s. No one under the age of 18 can join the Armed Forces without formal parental consent, and all Service personnel have a statutory right to claim discharge up to their 18th birthday. Service personnel under this age are not deployed on operations outside the UK, except where the operation does not involve them becoming engaged in, or exposed to, hostilities.
I, of course, recognise the need for the UK Government, Ministry of Defence, and the Armed Forces to ensure that effective safeguards and adequate support services are in place to protect the well-being of young Service personnel in particular. It is also important that in Wales, the Welsh Labour Government continues to take steps to ensure that the Armed Forces Covenant is upheld to help improve the lives of our Armed Forces community. My Welsh Conservative colleagues and I will continue to closely scrutinise the implementation of the Covenant here in Wales, as well as the support offered to serving and former personnel and their families by the Welsh Government, and the wider Armed Forces community.
Thank you once again for taking the time to write to me.
