Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the location and tasking of each (a) Type 23 and (b) Type 45 is.

His Majesty's Government does not routinely comment on operational tasking across the Royal Navy Frigate and Destroyer fleet. The location of deployed Frigates and Destroyers is made public by exception only. We also do not comment on future operations as to do so could, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness, or security of the Armed Forces.

However, I can confirm that there are currently seven Type 23 Frigates and three Type 45 Destroyers that are available for operations. As explained by the Secretary of State at Defence Oral questions on Monday 8 January 2024, HMS Richmond is currently sailing to the Middle East where HMS Diamond and HMS Lancaster are already operating.