Sir Nicholas Soames:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of lean manning on HM ships on their ability to fight in high-intensity and sustained action.

Mike Penning, Minister of State for the Armed Forces: The Royal Navy (RN) continually assesses the number of personnel required for the safe operation of its ships from their design phase through to their deployments. All RN ships will be deployed with the personnel required to meet their operational tasking.