Lord Sheikh asked Her Majesty’s Government:
- What they are doing to combat possible racism in the Household Division; and whether through enhanced public relations they are tackling any perception of racism in the Army by promoting awareness of the Army and its values. [HL4941]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Drayson): The Army has a policy of zero tolerance on all forms of prejudice, harassment and bullying. Any allegations are thoroughly investigated and action is taken where appropriate. To reinforce the Army’s core values and standards, and to ensure that all personnel are aware of current equality and diversity policy and their obligation to comply with it, they are required to undertake annual training. These provisions apply equally in the Household Division as they do to the rest of the
Army. All Army recruitment initiatives have a clear diversity dimension and through efforts such as media campaigns, work in schools and with ethnic minority communities, a positive perception is being given and more young people are seeing the Army as a career option of first choice.