David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) status and (b) purpose is of the Defence Diversity and Inclusion Programme established in September 2013.
Penny Mordaunt
The Defence Diversity and Inclusion Programme (DDIP) is a high priority change programme aimed at increasing the diversity of our workforce – both military and civilian. The Defence Board agreed in 2014 that the DDIP should be regarded as core business, on a par with other Defence Transformation activities.
The main purpose of the DDIP is to ensure that Ministry of Defence outputs are delivered by the right mix of capable and motivated people that appropriately represent the breadth of the society we exist to defend, now and in the future. The programme continues to drive real change in the core areas of leadership and culture; recruitment; retention and progression; and outreach, seeking to remove barriers where they might exist.
The benefits of this will be better access to talent for Defence’s workforce and improving the Armed Forces’ ability to achieve overall recruitment levels; improved decision making as a result of the different perspectives that come from a more diverse workforce; greater levels of cultural understanding so that we are more effective and trusted in our international operations and activities; improved workforce engagement and morale; and better relations with, and support from, the wide range of communities within British society as a result of a more representative workforce.
