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Reserve Forces

Asked by Mr Calvin BaileyLabourMinistry of DefenceTabled Answered 18 October 2025UIN 78978

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to standardise the criteria for reservist call-out liability across the Armed Forces services.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones

Under the forthcoming Armed Forces Bill, we will standardise some of the criteria governing this liability, for those personnel who will form the Strategic Reserve (personnel who leave Service and retain a liability to be called back into permanent Service). Call-out liability for personnel on leaving Regular Service is determined by individual circumstances. These include the Service they were part of, the individual commitment or contract that governed their Service, their age, and other specific terms of their discharge such as if for medical or disciplinary reasons.

The policies and processes that underpin call-out liability are under constant review, to ensure that they remain fit for purpose in the current geopolitical environment and beyond.

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