Launch of APPG for Neurodiversity in Defence and National Security
I met with colleagues to launch my new All Party Parliamentary Group for Neurodiversity in Defence and National Security. It is a cross party group and good to have a Labour peer on board, Baroness Anderson, who is also a Honorary Captain in the Royal Naval Reserve. Alongside Baroness Anderson and myself, there will be Paul Bristow MP and Chris Clarkson MP. With Dan Harris, Founder of Neurodiversity in Business as our Secretariat.
Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways. This applies to people not only such as myself who have dyspraxia and dyslexia, but also individuals with ADHD, autism and other associated conditions.
As you know, I am very passionate about neurodiversity and have done lots of work in this area during my time as a Member of Parliament. I was also part of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme 2022-2023. The aim of the Scheme is to give Members of the House of Commons and House of Lords experience and an insight into military life that would not otherwise be available to us. I thoroughly enjoyed taking part in this Scheme.
However, through this scheme myself and colleagues identified a number of issues around the accessibility of the armed forces for neurodiverse people. My APPG will aim to rectify these and I would like to launch an inquiry into how there can be better recruitment of neurodiverse people in the Armed Forces.
Whilst part of the Scheme, I met a Commanding Officer at Sandhurst and we had an interesting discussion about how warfare is progressing further and further towards cyber. Those who are neurodiverse can think outside the box and see things differently such as pattern recognition and keen attention to detail. These skills are paramount to enhancing our cyber security as a country.
Despite the wealth of research and studies into challenges faced by the neurodivergent community in general, there is very little on the lived experiences of neurodivergent individuals specifically in the UK Defence and National Security sector. There is already good work and commitment in progress across a number of initiatives, such as the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Neuro Inclusivity Network.
This new group I am launching will formally seek to identify and address these sector specific challenges and promote utilising and being more inclusive of the neurodivergent workforce in the Armed Forces. I greatly look forward to all the great work on Neurodiversity in Defence and National Security that will come.