Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many days each aircraft carrier was at sea in each of the years since each such carrier was launched.

The normal operating cycle of every ship involves them entering different readiness levels depending on their programmes and Departmental planning requirements. Newly commissioned ships also conduct periods of trials alongside in preparation for trials at sea.

The Royal Navy are currently modernising and digitising the system that holds this information, therefore I will write to the hon. Member with the number of days each aircraft carrier was at sea since being launched in the coming days. The new system will be in place in January.