Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral evidence of 21 November 2024 to the Defence Select Committee, HC 345, what steps he is taking to ensure the planned deployments of (a) HMS Queen Elizabeth and (b) HMS Prince of Wales take place as scheduled in 2025.

The Ministry of Defence remains committed to deploying HMS Prince of Wales as part of the Carrier Strike Group deployment to the Indo-Pacific in 2025. It would be inappropriate to discuss other planned deployments as to do so could compromise operational security.