The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that its new Armed Forces Recruiting Service (AFRS) contract will carry obligations to meet recruitment targets set by the three Services, while also embedding diversity requirements through compliance with the department’s wider inclusion strategy.
The details were outlined in responses to a series of written parliamentary questions from Conservative MP James Cartlidge.
Asked whether the AFRS contract would contain diversity targets, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said: “Defence remains committed to attracting, recruiting, retaining and developing the best talent from the broadest diversity of thought, skills, and backgrounds, to ensure our workforce is reflective of today’s society and able to meet current and future security threats.”
Pollard explained that under the contract, Serco – the supplier delivering AFRS – is required to comply with the MOD’s Diversity and Inclusion policy and meet Annual Mandated Performance Indicators linked to equality and diversity. He added: “It is important to note that the AFRS contract remains cognisant of MOD LOA [Levels of Ambition]; however, there is a clear distinction between LOA and contractual diversity targets.”
In a separate written answer, Pollard confirmed that the AFRS contract will include specific recruitment targets for each Service. “We inherited a retention and recruitment crisis from the last administration and it is the policy of this Government to recover numbers in our Armed Forces and to grow the size of the Army,” he said. “To deliver this we will be working with the new provider of the tri-service recruitment to deliver improvements in recruitment numbers.”
According to the minister, from Full-Service Implementation in 2027 the AFRS will be required to deliver against annual recruitment targets set out by the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force.
These will be formalised through the Command Recruiting Support Plan (CRSP), which is generated and approved in conjunction with the single Services. Pollard stated: “The AFRS contract contains a mechanism to adjust demand during each Recruiting Year.”
What a ruinous policy