Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Accepted
Shortage of adult volunteers hinders cadet expansion, requiring improved support and remuneration.
Recommendation
The Council explained that each of the armed forces would decide how to accommodate more cadets, through a combination of increasing the size and number of cadet units. The RFCAs would then support the chosen approach.18 The Department said that there was no lack of interest in young people wanting to join the cadets. However, the Department stressed that expansion is dependent on having the adult volunteers who run the cadets, and that the shortage of these was an issue. The Department is still working out how to address this shortage. It acknowledged that it would need to review and improve the proposition for adult volunteers, for example by giving them the necessary support and, where appropriate, financial remuneration.19 However, the Department also explained that the issue 14 Q 7; C&AG’s Report, para 1.4; Ministry of Defence, Strategic Defence Review, 2025, Part 1 para 23 and Recommendation 26; Letter from Ministry of Defence PUS, 9 July 2025, para 18 15 Letter from Ministry of Defence PUS, 9 July 2025, paras 18 to 20 16 Letter from Ministry of Defence PUS, 9 July 2025, paras 1 to 17; C&AG’s Report, paras 2.23 and 2.24 17 Qq 7 and 19; letter from Assistant Chief of Defence Staff Reserves and Cadets, 27 June 2025; C&AG’s Report, paras 1.5 and 2.22 18 Q 51 19 Qq 7, 51 and 53 11 should be examined across the whole of society: for example, it claimed that the introduction of VAT on private school fees had affected some schools’ ability to employ additional staff to look after cadet activities.20
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to develop a plan by June 2026 for increasing the number of Cadets, ensuring accessibility for diverse backgrounds and regions, addressing barriers like volunteer shortages, and maintaining robust safeguarding arrangements. A programme plan is underway with regular meetings, a Senior Responsible Officer, and efforts to identify target areas for growth, attract volunteers, and assess safeguarding capacity.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
2a. PAC recommendation: The Department should develop a plan by June 2026 (one year after the publication of the SDR) for increasing the number of Cadets which sets out how it will: • ensure that young people from different backgrounds and all parts of the UK can join; • address barriers to expansion such as the number of adult volunteers; and • maintain robust safeguarding arrangements for the enlarged Cadet forces. 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: June 2026 2.2 The development of a programme plan for the growth in Cadet numbers is well underway. This process is being taken forward through regular meetings of the Heads of the individual Cadet Forces. A Director level Senior Responsible Officer has been appointed, and governance arrangements are evolving in light of Defence Reform. 2.3 Work is in train within the department, based on the current laydown of the Cadet forces across the UK, to determine the key target areas for growth, taking into account demographic changes and indices of deprivation. 2.4 A priority for the programme is to attract and retain sufficient numbers of suitable adult volunteers to deliver the Cadet experience. Early work includes the launch of an attitude survey of current volunteers to help in determining appropriate actions to improve the volunteer ‘proposition’. 2.5 Work is being taken forward with Cadet safeguarding hubs to assess the need for increased capacity to manage the impact of Cadet growth (noting that a proportion of incidents