Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to increase awareness of the potential merits of joining the Reserve Forces and Cadets in Northern Ireland.

The single Services have provided the following information:

Royal Navy

Based in Lisburn, HMS Hibernia is Northern Ireland's Royal Naval Reserve Unit. This Unit has a proactive recruiting posture and is regularly represented in colleges and careers fairs, as well as through online recruiting events. HMS HIBERNIA has also participated in Northern Ireland Armed Forces Day activities, as well as delivering Employer Engagement events.

The Royal Navy Cadet Forces are well represented in Northern Ireland with three units of the Combined Cadet Force and eleven units of the Sea Cadet Corps (SCC) across the Province, and a further two SCC units currently under consideration.

British Army

Advertising opportunities in Northern Ireland for Army roles takes shape in the exact same way as it does in the rest of the UK. In addition, the Army's Recruiting Group support three large events in Northern Ireland which cover both Regular and Reserve streams, providing recruiting literature which is specific to Northern Ireland. At a tactical level, the Army's Recruiting Group provides unit-specific recruiting literature and the last order saw around 15,000 personalised leaflets sent to units in Northern Ireland.

For Cadets, the #NoFilter campaign to recruit both new Cadets and adult volunteers ran for two weeks in Northern Ireland in February 2022, using outdoor media, streamed radio advertising and social media targeting. There was a marked increase in applications submitted during the two weeks the campaign was run.

Royal Air Force (RAF)

Air Officer Northern Ireland has an extensive, ongoing, regional Engagement Strategy to raise awareness of the RAF in Northern Ireland, often using 502 (Ulster) Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force in its delivery. This provides the RAF Reserves with the opportunity to show who they are, tell their story, and highlight the benefits of Reserve Service. Activity and events that raise awareness are underpinned by regional recruiting and selecting radio advertisements and national television adverts which also promote the opportunities and benefits.

There is also a continual focus on promoting the benefits, values and experience that Royal Air Force Air Cadet membership brings to youth in Northern Ireland, as well as a direct effort to enlarge the footprint of Cadet units.