Recommendation 13

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