Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to expand the UK's fishing fleet in preparation for the cessation of the application of the EU Common Fishing Policy.

When the UK is an independent coastal state, we will be seeking a fairer share of quota for our fishing fleets across the UK. We will also have the opportunity to design a domestic set of fisheries policies more suited to our needs than under the Common Fisheries Policy. Decisions on fleet capacity (where in some cases we currently have an excess of capacity) depend on a wide variety of factors, including the level of quota available, and, most crucially of all, the long-term sustainability of our key stocks.