Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the standard length was of deployment for service personnel aboard (a) frigates and (b) destroyers in 2012; and what the standard length of such deployments is at present.

In 2012, the average length of deployment for both Destroyers and Frigates was seven months. Currently, deployments are between seven and seven and a half months.

From early 2015, the Royal Navy will introduce nine-month deployments for those Destroyers and Frigates undertaking patrol tasks in the South Atlantic and the Gulf. The move to longer deployments will mean fewer generation cycles; fewer deployments in the longer term; less disruption, and a better ability for individuals and families to plan. A package of additional benefits will be in place for personnel: two weeks' pre-deployment leave; two weeks' leave at the mid point of their deployment, and four or five weeks' leave on their return, depending on which main leave period this falls in. It is planned that other deployments will remain between seven and seven and a half months.