Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which it is implementing Priority 5 of the UK's National Strategy for Maritime Security; and whether it has identified any areas in respect of that priority requiring action or improvement.

The UK's National Strategy for Maritime Security is a cross-Departmental strategy which identifies 16 Government Departments and Agencies (including the Ministry of Defence (MOD), Home Office, Foreign Office and UK Border Force) who are responsible for the Maritime security of the UK maritime domain and overseas. The strategy's objectives therefore do not fall to any one Department. The National Maritime Security Committee oversees implementation of the strategy and directs delivery of the objectives. For Objective 5 specifically, the MOD along with other Departments and Agencies will conduct a National Maritime Coordination trial later this year which will explore how maritime surveillance can be optimised across different Departments. The trial will involve three Offshore Patrol Vessels from the Royal Navy.