The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that it’ll not increase the minimal age of recruitment into the Armed Forces, sustaining the present threshold that enables people to affix from the age of 16 with parental consent.
In a written response to a parliamentary query from Will Stone MP, Defence Minister Louise Sandher-Jones mentioned there have been “no plans” to vary the coverage. She emphasised that every one recruitment underneath the age of 18 is voluntary and topic to strict safeguards.
“The Armed Forces don’t have any plans to boost the minimal age of recruitment,” she mentioned. “All recruitment into the UK army is voluntary and no younger individual underneath the age of 18 years might be part of our Armed Forces except their software is accompanied by the formal written consent of their father or mother or guardian. We take the responsibility of care in the direction of all recruits critically, particularly these underneath 18 years of age.”
The Minister famous that service personnel underneath 18 are usually not deployed on hostile operations outdoors the UK or on missions the place they might be uncovered to hostilities. “All new recruits, no matter age, can discharge inside their first three to 6 months of service,” she added.
Sandher-Jones mentioned the coverage complies with each home and worldwide legislation, together with the UN Conference on the Rights of the Little one and its Elective Protocol on the Involvement of Youngsters in Armed Battle. She additionally highlighted the academic advantages of early entry, describing it as a respectable pathway for college leavers.
“The availability of training and coaching for 16-year-old faculty leavers not solely offers a route into the Armed Forces that complies with authorities training coverage and affords a major basis for growth, nevertheless it additionally allows entry to coaching in literacy and numeracy, in addition to enrolment in apprenticeships,” she mentioned.
The Ministry of Defence pointed to impartial oversight of its insurance policies, noting that Ofsted usually inspects coaching and welfare provision for younger recruits.