Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost of the advertising budget to support reserve recruitment campaigns has been to date; and what the overall budget is for such expenditure in the future.

During financial year (FY) 2013-14, the total cost of the Maritime Reserves' recruitment advertising was £2.16 million. The Maritime Reserves' budget for Reserves recruitment advertising in FY 2014-15 is £2.96 million.

The Army's 'More Than Meets The Eye' recruiting campaign is designed to attract applications to both the Regular and Reserve components of the Army. The cost of the Reserve element of the campaign is, therefore, an estimate based on a 50% share of the overall campaign cost. During FY 2013-14, the Army estimates that the cost of advertising for Army Reserve recruitment was £1.882 million. The projected share of the budget to be spent on Army Reserve recruitment advertising in FY 2014-15 is £3.8 million.

During FY 2013-14, the total cost of the RAF's Reserve recruitment advertising was £2.52 million. In 2014-15, the RAF's budget for Reserves specific recruitment advertising is £2.14 million.