Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's Major Projects Portfolio data 2015, published in July 2016, whether the number of Royal Navy and Royal Air Force specialists required to support the F-35 Lightning II programme capability has been increased.

The overall manning situation has improved. However, the lack of manpower - particularly in the Defence Equipment and Support area - remains an extant risk and is kept under review. Since the Department's Major Projects Portfolio data for 2015 was published, the number of specialist personnel to support the programme from both the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy has been increased and these additional people have now started to be posted into roles supporting the Lightning Programme.