Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps were taken on on-duty consumption of alcohol by naval officers following the fatal shooting of a crew member aboard HMS Astute in 2011.

All Service personnel are expected to be fit to perform their normal professional duties at all times, including any specific safety critical duties.

Duty personnel are not permitted to drink while on duty and there are stringent guidelines on the amounts of alcohol that personnel can consume in the 24 hours preceding their duty. These are that no more than five units of alcohol are to be consumed within the 24 hours prior to assuming a duty, with no alcohol to be consumed in the 10 hours prior to assuming a duty.

Additionally, the Armed Forces Act 2011 has provided the Statutory Instruction to permit alcohol testing of Service personnel, using Home Office approved breathalysers, who are carrying out or are due to carry out any safety critical duties as defined by the Act where 'reasonable cause' exists.