PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Army: Incentives (2 July 2019)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many bonuses have been paid by the Army/Capita to recruits who agree to enlist earlier than originally intended; what the average size is of those bonus payments; what the total sum spent is on those bonuses as of 2 July 2019; and what the qualifying criteria are for those bonus payments.

Asked by:
Mr Mark Francois (Conservative)

The Recruiting Partnering Project (RPP) has been resourced to prioritise recruiting using a range of tools, including financial incentives. Historically, these have incentivised candidates to join specific trades or to start training quickly.

The RPP has set aside some £885,000 to date, to incentivise candidates, who are able to do so, to start training quickly where there are anticipated spaces on training intakes. These bonuses were comprised of single payments of £2,500 to 354 candidates, split over two separate incentive periods.

Qualifying criteria require the candidate to commence the relevant training (e.g. Infantry at Infantry Training Centre Catterick) in target months, be over 18 years of age and to have passed their Discharge as of Right period.

Answered by:
Mr Tobias Ellwood (Conservative)
8 July 2019