Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to support Armed Forces Day 2022 celebrations in Portsmouth through increasing (a) public access to HMNB Portsmouth to encourage local historical and cultural knowledge and (b) armed services recruitment and retention.

Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is an operational, secure site which is operated for the Royal Navy (RN) and the wider Ministry of Defence, and there are few opportunities for it to be open to the public.

The RN will be supporting the wider plans to mark Armed Forces Day in Portsmouth, working alongside colleagues within the Historic Dockyard and the National Museum of the Royal Navy to enable the public to engage and learn about the RN.

Armed Forces Day is an opportunity to celebrate the entire Armed Forces community, encompassing serving personnel, reservists, veterans, cadets and, most importantly, their families, who support them in their endeavours.

The RN will be running a recruitment campaign at the time of Armed Forces Day 2022, but not specifically focused around it.