Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the number of Royal Marines will drop below 6,200 by 2023.

On current plans, the Royal Marines will have a slightly reduced workforce requirement by 2023.

This change to the workforce structure is necessary to enable the Royal Marines to meet the growing threat with improved skills and equipment. Amendments to workforce numbers allow us to introduce transformative technologies, such as autonomous systems, that will maintain the Royal Marines' ability to operate successfully in any environment.