Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the size of the defence force in the context of NATO commitments relating to any escalation of the Russian threat in eastern Europe.

Headline numbers of regular personnel do not define operational effectiveness. A more efficient training pipeline, fewer formed-unit deployments, organisational refinement and investment in improved capabilities mean that more units are ready more of the time. Through our offer to NATO, we offer the Alliance the full spectrum of defence capabilities.

20,000 Service personnel from the Royal Navy, the British Army, and the Royal Air Force will deploy across Europe to take part in Exercise Steadfast Defender 24. Our Armed Forces continue to meet all their operational commitments, including participating in every single NATO mission, supporting Ukraine, and tackling Houthi shipping attacks in the Red Sea.