Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) state of readiness and(b) availability of (i) major warships, (ii) attack submarines, (iii) helicopters and (iv) military aircraft.

The Ministry of Defence keeps its equipment under constant review to meet current and potential future requirements. The normal operating cycle of military equipment and Units requires them to hold different readiness levels depending on their programmes, maintenance and Departmental planning requirements.