Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent trends in recruitment and retention of civilian seafarers in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Answered by Earl of Minto

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) continues to meet all its Operational Commitments around the globe and continues to steadfastly support Royal Navy (RN) vessels on Operations worldwide.

Recruitment and retention of staff are a priority for the RFA and there are a number of initiatives underway to support this.

For recruitment, the RFA is fostering relationships with universities and colleges to raise awareness of the opportunities available, planning to launch a graduate engineer scheme, sponsoring academic top up schemes to attract newly qualified engineers, and introducing a mechanism for seamless transfer to the RFA for RN service leavers. In addition to this work, the RFA plans to release a focused RFA recruitment marketing campaign.

For retention, the RFA is undertaking a number of initiatives which include: enhancing human resources management with more efficient, digitised processes for claims and reporting; maximising development opportunities; enabling participation in team building and physical activities; introducing a dedicated wellbeing team and creating new and exciting shore posts.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with recognised trade unions concerning the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Answered by Earl of Minto

The Ministry of Defence has regular scheduled discussions and meetings with both Nautilus International and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers in accordance with an established Partnership Agreement.

The most recent discussions have taken place during April 2024.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many officers and other ranks there are in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Answered by Earl of Minto

As of 1 January 2024, there are 623 Officers and 1046 Other Ranks within the RFA.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to appoint a new Commodore of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Answered by Earl of Minto

An external recruitment campaign for the Senior Civil Servant Pay Band 1 position of Deputy Director Royal Fleet Auxiliary had an application closing date of 24 March 2024. The selection process is ongoing, and the result will be announced in due course on conclusion of that process.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government when HMS Somerset will carry out test firings of the new Naval Strike Missile.

Answered by Earl of Minto

HMS Somerset is available if needed, whilst undertaking a period of planned survey and defect repair work. The completion of a comprehensive trials package will culminate with operational acceptance of the new Naval Strike Missile. In order to preserve the operational security of the Fleet, the Royal Navy does not disclose the dates of planned test firings in advance.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the operational status of HMS Somerset.

Answered by Earl of Minto

HMS Somerset is available if needed, whilst undertaking a period of planned survey and defect repair work. The completion of a comprehensive trials package will culminate with operational acceptance of the new Naval Strike Missile. In order to preserve the operational security of the Fleet, the Royal Navy does not disclose the dates of planned test firings in advance.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with Russian oil and gas exploration entities operating in the British Antarctic Territory, and what agreements have been made.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Antarctic Treaty and its Protocol on Environmental Protection prohibits the commercial exploitation of minerals. The Antarctic Treaty Parties, which includes Russia, reaffirmed their ongoing commitment to this prohibition in a Declaration on Climate Change and the Antarctic, agreed by consensus in June 2023. Russia has a long-standing programme of surveying and mapping the geology of Antarctica, but has repeatedly assured the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting that these activities are for scientific purposes, and of their commitment to sharing data through the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research's Seismic Data Library System. There is no evidence of any drilling or extraction activities. We will continue to monitor that situation and Russia's activities.

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