Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Armed Forces personnel were (a) stationed in and (b) deployed to the Middle East in (i) October 2023, (ii) November 2023, (iii) December 2023 and (iv) January 2024.

Approximate figures for UK service personnel stationed in; and deployed on operations in the Middle East as at the 1^st of: October 2023, November 2023 and December 2023 are shown in the table below.

On any given day these figures can vary significantly due to routine force rebalancing, rest and recuperation periods and relief in place. The figures for stationed personnel as of January 2024 are currently undergoing validation checks and are therefore not yet available.