Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to encourage the armed forces to participate in Armed Force Day events outside of major cities.

I am pleased to report that Armed Forces Day was once again a resounding success.

The aim of Armed Forces Day is to provide the public with the opportunity to show appreciation for our Armed Forces and we work with national and regional media outlets to ensure it achieves high profile coverage. This year, grants were offered to over 100 organisers of local Armed Forces Day events and we also hosted the public event listings of over 300 local events on our website, armedforcesday.org.uk.

Unit commanding officers are encouraged to support local community events, both at home and abroad, with military support provided again this year throughout the UK and at our overseas locations, for example an open day at the British military base in Larnaca, Cyprus.