There will be a general debate on Armed Forces Day in the House of Commons Chamber on Thursday 26 June 2025.

About Armed Forces Day

Armed Forces Day has been marked annually since 2009 to raise awareness of, and celebrate, the armed forces. It was introduced by the then Labour government to show support for the armed forces, their families, reservists, cadets and veterans.

Events to mark Armed Forces Day are taking place throughout the country. The Armed Forces Day website helps find events local to you. This year it is on Saturday 28 June.

The Ministry of Defence provides grants of up to £10,000 for communities to help host an event. The grant is match-funded, meaning the MOD grant could cover up to half of the overall cost of the event. Grant applications for 2025 are now closed.

The Strategic Defence Review 2025

On 2 June 2025 the government published the Strategic Defence Review (SDR).

Independently led by the former Defence Secretary and former NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson, the government has endorsed the “vision and direction” of the review and accepted all 62 of its recommendations.

Commons Library research resources

The Commons Library has a range of research briefings and resources on many different topics affecting the armed forces. Some of these have been updated to reflect the conclusions and recommendations of the SDR.

Veterans’ issues

Our data dashboard shows the number of veterans by constituency and lists the top 20 constituencies with the highest proportion of former armed forces personnel.

Our veterans’ collection of briefings provide information on support and services available to veterans on a variety of topics including: access to housing, healthcare, employment and benefits, as well as information on compensation and pension schemes. Our briefings explain what the Armed Forces Covenant is and its status in law, the evolution of government policy towards veterans, and veteran-specific legislation.

Our briefings also provide information on how to access service records, maintaining and funding war memorials, how to apply for medals and prominent medal campaigns.

Serving personnel

Strategic Defence Review 2025: Armed forces personnel – The Strategic Defence Review makes recommendations for the future of UK defence. The review said a “workforce crisis” had been created.

UK defence personnel statistics – This briefing provides information on how UK armed forces personnel statistics are measured and discusses current and historic strength levels. Statistics on the diversity of the armed forces, people joining and leaving, and surplus or deficits of strength against targets are also discussed.

Conscription and national service in the UK  – When has the UK had conscription and why are some European countries reintroducing some form of mandatory military service?

Strategic Defence Review 2025: Armed forces housing – The government will publish a Defence Housing Strategy in 2025. What did the Strategic Defence Review 2025 say about service accommodation?

Armed Forces Commissioner Bill – The Armed Forces Commissioner Bill 2024-25 would establish an independent Armed Forces Commissioner and provide the Commissioner with powers to investigate general service welfare matters in the armed forces. The Bill is currently in ping pong and will return to the House of Commons on 2 July 2025 for consideration of Lords message. This briefing will be updated to reflect the House of Lords debate on 11 June.

Deployments

UK armed forces operational commitments – A broad overview of the major ongoing operational commitments of the UK’s armed forces in 2025.

Deploying the armed forces in the UK – This paper looks at when the armed forces can be deployed in the UK, what they do, and the legal basis.

UK defence in 2025: Renewed interest in the Arctic – How is UK defence responding to increasing geopolitical competition in the Arctic/ High North?

Spending and equipment

Estimates Day debate: Spending of the Ministry of Defence – On Wednesday 25 June 2025 there will be an Estimates Day debate on the spending of the Ministry of Defence, in so far as it relates to the remit of the National Armaments Director. This briefing sets out the Ministry of Defence’s spending plans for financial year 2025/26 and explains the budget allocated to the Ministry of Defence in the Spending Review 2025.

UK defence spending – This paper summarises UK defence expenditure. It also looks at international comparisons of the defence spending of NATO allies and UK spending in some key areas, including equipment and military operations.

Strategic Defence Review 2025: The UK’s nuclear deterrent – What are the implications of the new Strategic Defence Review for the UK’s nuclear deterrent?

UK defence in 2025: Integrated air and missile defence – What air defence capabilities does the UK have to protect the UK homeland and what did the recent Strategic Defence Review say?

The following briefings set out some of the major equipment holdings of the armed forces. They have not yet been updated to reflect the recommendations of the SDR:

Parliamentary scrutiny and legislation

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