Chapter 4 – Protect Our People 33 4.54 We will introduce a new pay model for those serving in the Armed Forces. It will be simpler and better targeted. We will also begin to phase out commitment bonuses, which have not proved effective, and reinvest the savings into the Armed Forces. There will be no reductions in Armed Forces numbers. 4.55 We will develop a new Armed Forces offer for new joiners, which better meets the expectations of future recruits and targets resources on the people we need most. 4.56 The Reserves are an essential part of our Armed Forces. They allow us to access skills and expertise found in the civilian world. Reserve personnel help to link the Armed Forces to society, and employers benefit significantly from the transferable skills that Reserve personnel bring to their businesses. We will continue to grow our Reserves to 35,000, with increased investment in training and equipment and improved pay and conditions. 4.57 We are committed to achieving an inclusive working environment, and to building Armed Forces that are diverse and fully representative of UK society. This will be the work of many years but, as a step towards this goal, by 2020 the Armed Forces will be recruiting at least 10% Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic personnel and at least 15% women. The review of women in combat has concluded that in principle, there is no reason why they should not be able to undertake the full range of combat roles. We are conducting a study of the physiological impacts of these roles and based on this work, we will announce a final decision on women undertaking the full range of combat roles in 2016. 4.58 Our commitment to the Armed Forces is set out in the Armed Forces Covenant, which we enshrined in law in the Armed Forces Act 2011. Its key principles are that those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage; and that special treatment is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given the most, such as the wounded, injured and sick. Every local authority in Great Britain and over 700 corporate employers have committed to the Covenant. 4.59 We are delivering a comprehensive programme to ensure that the Armed Forces receive the overall support that they deserve. We have committed over £450 million of banking fines to support Armed Forces charities, and, working with the devolved administrations, continue to develop policies in education, healthcare, tax and housing to cater for the unique needs of Service life. We will launch the first comprehensive families strategy for the Armed Forces, doing more on spousal employment, healthcare and children’s education. We will further improve access to financial services. And we will strengthen the Armed Forces Covenant to support our veterans in finding civilian employment. 4.60 Defence civil servants make an important contribution to our national security, including through their roles on operations and in delivering some of the largest and most complex equipment and infrastructure projects found anywhere in government. 4.61 We will continue to reform the MOD to make it leaner and more efficient, outsourcing key functions where the private sector can deliver better, and investing in skills for the roles we retain. We will reduce the number of civilians employed by the MOD by almost 30%, to 41,000, by the end of this Parliament. Defence estate 4.62 The defence estate includes the land, accommodation and training facilities that support our Service personnel and are essential to the delivery of military capability.