Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to mitigate the potential impact of Royal Fleet Auxiliary strike action.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to engage with the Maritime Trade Unions, who represent members of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), to discuss a resolution to the on-going RFA pay dispute.

While the pay dispute is the immediate concern, we are committed to improving the RFA "offer" to ensure it remains competitive in the long-term. The RFA are highly valued, specialist personnel. We are committed to listening to their concerns and keeping a continued dialogue to address the issues they have raised.

The MOD operates a whole force model, bringing military, civilian and contracted staff together to deliver its defence outcomes; we continue to proactively collaborate with our stakeholders and partners to sustain outputs whilst discussions with the Maritime Trade Unions remain ongoing.