Source · Select Committees · Defence Committee
Recommendation 18
18
Deferred
Paragraph: 143
Operational demands create personnel retention issues and growing capability shortfalls in services.
Conclusion
Personnel need time to recover from operations, and time to train and develop new skills. But the demand of operations makes that harder to achieve. It is unsurprising that more people are leaving the Forces than joining them. All three services have growing capability shortfalls—these have been a feature of our inquiries over the course of this Parliament. As these shortfalls increase, this places greater pressure on those who remain, leading to a vicious cycle.
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the issue of personnel shortfalls and states that a formal response to the Haythornthwaite Review recommendations on recruitment and retention, outlining next steps and a roadmap, will be published in 2024.
Paragraph Reference:
143
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
As a Government, we recognise the responsibility to ensure our Armed Forces have the right people in the right place with the right skills, both now and in the future. This is never more pressing as we face global challenges not seen since the middle of the twentieth century. Despite an ever-increasing technological landscape, we know that people continue to be a critical factor in Defence. We are also committed to our Armed Forces remaining a career of choice for new generations. They should be attracted by modern and flexible offers which seek to reflect contemporary motivators and expectations and encourage them to remain in or contribute directly to defence throughout their military careers and beyond. Defence recognise that we must compete in a challenging labour market where there is huge demand for many of the key skills the Armed Forces needs to recruit and retain. This same challenge is faced by Armed Forces globally. We must address complex levers of retention; both positive and negative, to ensure that the best appropriate offer is available to everyone. The Armed Forces, both regular and reserve service, has been a driver of social mobility throughout history, and it is our responsibility to build on the opportunities offered to help people achieve their potential. The Haythornthwaite Review’s 67 recommendations were all accepted in the Defence Command Paper refresh in 2023 and a formal HMG response to each one of the recommendations will be published during 2024. The formal Govt. response will outline next steps for delivery and implementation for each recommendation, reflecting a broad roadmap for recruitment and retention for the short and the longer term. Key indicators will be captured regularly and reported to all stakeholders to measure progress. It will set out clear progress already made in priority areas and demonstrates how Defence is working fast to speed up recruitment, support the retention of the people we have, and build a people system that is aligned to and evolves with society. The work we are already undertaking will transform how we approach recruitment and retention, moving away from a base-fed model and one-size-fits-all culture to one based on the agility and autonomy of a mission-command approach.