Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on television advertising in each of the last three years.

The Ministry of Defence has spent the following on television advertising in each of the last three financial years:

2011-12 - The data is not held in the precise format requested.

2012-13 - £8.0 million

2013-14 - £8.4 million

This expenditure is for recruitment advertising. It is a key requirement for the Armed Forces to maintain a satisfactory balance of skills, experience, ability and seniority in rank to enable delivery of operational requirements. Despite the reduction in overall numbers of Service personnel, the requirement for the Armed Forces to recruit and train personnel to replace those who leave the Services remains. Audited figures for 2014-15 will be available after the end of the financial year.