Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the viability of its maritime naval ports in the event of rising sea levels over the next 50 years.

The Ministry of Defence has undertaken extensive work to enable understanding of the risk that climate change, including rising sea levels, will have across the defence estate and its outputs.

Resilience and mitigation planning is an important element of the Royal Navy's Climate Change and Sustainability Plan. The Royal Navy have assessed a range of climate risks and their potential impacts on its naval bases and is integrating the assessments into planning and works programmes to ensure that impacts are mitigated or minimised as far as possible.

Details of these assessments are sensitive, therefore I am unable to comment further. To do so could prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.