James Cleverly welcomes the use of the reserve forces to recruit cyber-experts but calls on the Government to ensure that their career options are not limited because of their niche specialisation.
James Cleverly (Braintree) (Con)
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s commitment to use the reserve forces as a way to get cyber-experts into the field, metaphorically. Will he ensure that they have a career path through the reserve forces that does not cap them because of their niche specialisations?
Mark Lancaster
My hon. Friend raises an important point. That is precisely why I was honoured to open the new Defence Cyber School at Shrivenham in March. We recognise that basic cyber-skills will be vital in our armed forces. This will become a separate career branch in time, but we hope that every member of the armed forces will have cyber-skills.