Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the (a) level of seafarers pay and (b) number of seafarers on the (i) capacity and (ii) functions of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Navy Command is introducing a number of recruitment and retention initiatives. An independent benchmarking survey has been engaged to ensure levels of pay, leave and assignment length are competitive with industry to ensure the RFA remains at the leading edge of UK shipping operators and employers.