Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary on the potential impact of trends in the level of pay on (a) recruitment, (b) retention and (c) training.

Navy Command is introducing a number of recruitment and retention initiatives. An independent benchmarking survey has been engaged to ensure levels of pay, leave and assignment length are competitive with industry to ensure the RFA remains at the leading edge of UK shipping operators and employers.