Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to address shortfalls in (a) recruitment and (b) retention in the Royal Navy.

The Naval Service utilises a wide range of mechanisms to aid the recruitment and retention of personnel. For recruitment these include targeted marketing, specific recruitment events and staged remunerative awards to attract recruits in specialist areas. A number of initiatives have also been developed in order to retain experienced personnel, such as the use of targeted retention incentives and career extensions. Further developments under the Defence People Programme, such as flexible engagements, will help ensure that this process continues.