Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in states which allow women to engage in close combat operations on effective implementation of that policy.

Penny Mordaunt

The Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary stated on 20 December 2015 that they would like to see all roles in the Armed Forces opened up to women in 2016 and further physiological research currently under way will inform a final decision in mid-2016.

The Ministry of Defence is working closely with other nations who have lifted the exclusion including Australia and the United States. This engagement includes collaboration between scientific and research bodies as well as on policy and training development. The UK research programme is investigating the long-term health effects of UK combat requirements which will benefit both male and female personnel.

I discussed this issue at length with counterparts in the US when I visited Washington in September 2015.