Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many ships the Royal Navy plans to operate in the year 2023.

We remain committed to ensuring the Royal Navy has the ships and capabilities required to fulfil Defence commitments now and in the future.

The Prime Minister has committed to undertake the deepest review of Britain's security, defence and foreign policy. This review will examine how we strengthen and prioritise our alliances, diplomacy and development and will consider all aspects of our defence and security capabilities, including our approach to procurement and maintaining our technological edge. We are considering a number of options to increase the availability of ships during this period.