Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's readiness days target is for (a) the Royal Navy and (b) Royal Fleet Auxiliaries ships.

I refer the right hon. Member to the response to the right hon. Member’s Question 188829 that was provided on 13 November 2023. A copy of my letter was placed in the Library of the House. As I mentioned in my letter the Ministry of Defence will provide a Written Ministerial Statement on an annual basis which confirms the readiness days for the Surface Fleet for the preceding year. It would therefore not be appropriate to give any updated figures at this time.

The normal operating cycle of every ship involves them entering different readiness levels depending on their programmes, periods of refit and Departmental planning requirements. To avoid compromising operational security, the Ministry of Defence does not routinely disclose planned readiness profiles to avoid revealing elements of the Fleet's long-term schedule.