The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that its new Armed Forces Recruiting Service (AFRS) contract will carry obligations not only to hit recruitment targets for the Navy, Army, and RAF, but also to embed diversity requirements across all recruitment activity.
The details were revealed in responses to written parliamentary questions from Conservative MP James Cartlidge. 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 reflects today’s society and is ready for current and future security threats.”
Under the contract, Serco, which will deliver the AFRS, must comply with the MOD’s Diversity and Inclusion policy and meet annual equality and diversity performance indicators. Pollard clarified that while the contract aligns with the MOD’s Levels of Ambition, there is a clear distinction between those ambitions and formal contractual diversity targets.
The minister also confirmed that specific recruitment targets for each Service will be included. “We inherited a retention and recruitment crisis from the last administration,” he said, “and it is the policy of this Government to recover numbers in our Armed Forces and grow the size of the Army. To deliver this we will be working with the new provider to improve recruitment across all three Services.”
From Full-Service Implementation in 2027, the AFRS will be formally required to meet annual targets set out by the Royal Navy, British Army, and RAF. These will be managed through the Command Recruiting Support Plan (CRSP), approved in conjunction with each Service, with flexibility built in to adjust demand throughout the year.
