Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Afghan graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst were evacuated under Op Pitting and now reside in the UK; and what proportion of these were accompanied by family members or dependants.
Answered by James Heappey
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) is proud of its illustrious history of training Officer Cadets (OCdts) from Afghanistan, with 74 having attended between 1975 and August 2021.
All eligible Afghans who attended RMAS were granted sponsorship under Operation PITTING, including those who did not complete the Commissioning Course and those who commenced training after August 2021. However, due to the volume and complexity of relocation applications, it is not currently possible to confirm how many of the OCdts or their dependants were evacuated and are now residing in the UK.
The Defence Afghan Relocation and Resettlement team continue to work closely with RMAS to provide support to all eligible Afghan OCdts who are entitled to relocate to the UK.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Officer Cadets from Afghanistan attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst between 1975 and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
Answered by James Heappey
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) is proud of its illustrious history of training Officer Cadets (OCdts) from Afghanistan, with 74 having attended between 1975 and August 2021.
All eligible Afghans who attended RMAS were granted sponsorship under Operation PITTING, including those who did not complete the Commissioning Course and those who commenced training after August 2021. However, due to the volume and complexity of relocation applications, it is not currently possible to confirm how many of the OCdts or their dependants were evacuated and are now residing in the UK.
The Defence Afghan Relocation and Resettlement team continue to work closely with RMAS to provide support to all eligible Afghan OCdts who are entitled to relocate to the UK.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to recruit non-religious pastoral carers to provide belief-based support for the 56,000 regular and reserve personnel who currently identify as having no religion.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes all aspects of the health and wellbeing of its personnel very seriously. We are working to create and sustain an inclusive environment where people of all faiths and beliefs feel able to be authentic in the workplace, feel respected and are able to achieve their full potential.
MOD encourages and supports a number of faith and belief staff networks to support and connect people with each other and help to create a better working environment for our staff. These networks also play an important role connecting Defence to local faith and belief communities, who often have a strong interest in our work.
The Humanists and non-religious in Defence (HAND) Network is a thriving internal community, led by a strong champion, promoting the interest of the non-religious community within Defence. The HAND Network is working together with the MOD's Diversity and Inclusion team on an active ongoing project which seeks to address the delivery of pastoral care to non-religious Defence personnel.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing pastoral support to non-religious armed forces personnel alongside religious chaplaincy services.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes all aspects of the health and wellbeing of its personnel very seriously. We are working to create and sustain an inclusive environment where people of all faiths and beliefs feel able to be authentic in the workplace, feel respected and are able to achieve their full potential.
MOD encourages and supports a number of faith and belief staff networks to support and connect people with each other and help to create a better working environment for our staff. These networks also play an important role connecting Defence to local faith and belief communities, who often have a strong interest in our work.
The Humanists and non-religious in Defence (HAND) Network is a thriving internal community, led by a strong champion, promoting the interest of the non-religious community within Defence. The HAND Network is working together with the MOD's Diversity and Inclusion team on an active ongoing project which seeks to address the delivery of pastoral care to non-religious Defence personnel.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which compensation schemes are open for nuclear test veterans of tests that took place prior to 2005.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Nuclear Test Veterans who believe they have suffered ill health due to service may apply for no-fault compensation under the War Pensions Scheme. War Pensions are payable in respect of illness or injury as a result of service in the Armed Forces before 6 April 2005.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many nuclear test veterans have submitted claims under any compensation scheme; and how many of those claims have been successful.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The information requested is not held centrally. As a result, providing the answer would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many nuclear test veterans have (a) submitted claims under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme since the announcement of 26 August 2020, and (b) received compensation through a claim.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) was introduced by the Government to provide compensation to military personnel injured on or after 6 April 2005. As there have been no nuclear tests carried out since 2005, there is no eligibility for Nuclear Test Veterans (NTVs) to claim under the scheme.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to provide a priority service for nuclear test veterans since his Department’s announcement of such a scheme on 26 August 2020.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Veterans UK have worked with The British Nuclear Test Veterans Association (BNTVA) to develop enhanced guidance to support claimants belonging to the Veterans Nuclear Test community. Improved content, signposting, an additional claim form and a bespoke printable pdf leaflet are now available to assist Nuclear Test Veterans prior to submitting their application.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on legal fees in relation to British nuclear test litigation to date.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The net amount spent on legal costs in relation to the Nuclear Test Veterans Group Litigation known as AB and Ors v Ministry of Defence is £786,939.48. The legal action reached the Supreme Court in November 2011 on the issue of limitation. The Supreme Court found in favour of the MOD in March 2012 when the legal costs in the Group Litigation were £4,786,939.48.
In line with the Court's decision to award MOD 90% of its costs of the limitation issue in the High Court and 100% of its costs in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, MOD recovered £4,000,000 in legal costs from the Claimants' After The Event Insurers giving the net costs figure of £786,939.48.
Asked by: Crispin Blunt (Independent - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking through the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy to modernise pastoral support services for (a) the armed forces and (b) non-religious/humanist personnel.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Integrated Review will be published later in the year. Whilst I cannot pre-empt the contents of the review, I can give assurances that the well-being of the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces is of the utmost importance. Several active faith and belief networks, including humanism, have already been developed, and the Ministry of Defence pastoral support services will continue that important work.