Are the military reserve forces and cadets ready for expansion?
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will examine the challenges faced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in governing the body responsible for supporting the UK’s reserve and cadet forces on Monday 16 June at 3.30pm.
Meeting details
In April 2024, there were around 140,000 cadets spread across 3,500 units in the UK. This number is set to grow as the UK government announced a target of a 30% increase by 2030, in the recently published strategic defence review. A 20% increase in the reserve force numbers over the same period was also outlined, with this figure sitting just below 32,000 at the start of 2025.
In 2019, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) carried out a review of the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations (RFCAs). This highlighted some areas for concern, including the accountability and governance of the RFCAs, which support and provide infrastructure for the reserve forces and cadet forces of the army, the air force and the navy.
The RFCAs receive around £150m in funding annually from the MoD which is distributed by the Council of the RFCA’s. However, this framework was deemed not compliant with Treasury rules in 2022, and despite the MoD taking steps to rectify issues, a new framework has yet to be finalised.
The Committee will hear from representatives of both the MoD and the RFCAs as they examine governance, legal and financial risks of current systems and structures. Questions may also examine how changes to the current ways of working could retain the benefits of the RFCAs’ local identities and connections while ensuring that they provide cost-effective, high-quality infrastructure and support services; and whether safeguarding processes and appropriate training and checks are in place.