recruitment age

Alex Cunningham MP: Stop armed forces recruiting children

Ahead of his debate today, Labour MP Alex Cunningham argues that the UK’s "routine" practice of recruiting 16 year olds into the armed forces has to stop.

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Recruiting British soldiers at 16 isn’t just morally wrong. It’s bad economics

The Ministry of Defence wastes £94 million every year training minors for army roles which could be filled more cost-effectively by adult recruits, says a new report launched today by human rights groups Child Soldiers International and ForcesWatch.

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Army recruitment at 16 ‘should stop’

The "outdated" practice of recruiting 16-year-olds into the Army is wasting up to £94m a year and should stop, two human rights groups have said.

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Millions ‘wasted’ on junior army recruits, report claims

Tens of millions of pounds is wasted on training young soldiers for roles that could be filled more cost effectively by adults, a report has found.

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One Step Forward: The case for ending recruitment of minors by the British armed forces

This report published by Child Soldiers International and ForcesWatch outlines the numerous ethical and legal concerns related to rhe recruitment of under-18s, including the disproportionately high level of risk they face and long-term consequences for their employability, as well as detailing how much more it costs than recruiting only adults.

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Army recruitment of under-18s wastes £94 million every year, claims new report

The Ministry of Defence wastes up to £94 million every year training minors for army roles which could be filled more cost-effectively by adult recruits, according to a new report launched today by human rights groups Child Soldiers International and ForcesWatch.

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Mind the Gap: Education for minors in the British armed forces

Published by Child Soldiers International. This report concludes that the impact of recruitment below the age of 18 opens up a number of gaps that have long term significance, not only for the armed forces but also for the young people that they recruit. At a time of considerable downsizing of the army in particular, the large gap between the cost of training minors (who cannot be deployed operationally) and adults (who can) is difficult to sustain. But perhaps the most significant cost is in the detrimental impact that the gaps identified have on the future prospects of minors recruited by our armed forces.

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Why does the UK have the highest proportion of young infantry deaths in Afghanistan

The deaths of 6 soldiers recently in one incident was particularly tragic because of how young some of them were. Four of the six who died were under 21 years old; one was only 19.

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St Pauls poppy installation remembers child soldiers

An installation of poppies in St Paul's Cathedral marks the continued involvement of children in war, despite its practice being declared illegal by the UN.

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High drop out rate and imprisonment of teenage soldiers calls MoD policy into question

High drop-out rate of teenage soldiers hides unfair detention of some young recruits detained in military prisons for attempting to leave

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