Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans previously dismissed from the Armed Forces for reasons relating to their sexuality have applied to the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme since December 2024; whether the allocated funds will be adequate to deal with the numbers anticipated; how many of the applicants have already received awards; and what priority is given to applicants on grounds of (a) advanced age and (b) serious infirmity.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
As of 7 July 2025, 856 Veterans had applied for the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS) Dismissed or Discharged Payment, and 84 payments had been made.
The FRS rules specify that priority is given to applicants who are over 80 years of age, have a terminal illness, or are experiencing severe financial hardship. This is to ensure these prioritised groups receive support as quickly as possible, with the first payments issued as planned within 15 weeks of the scheme going live. Some cases are more complex and require additional time due to the unique and individual circumstances involved. All other applications are processed in the order in which they are received.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason records of Service personnel previously dismissed from the Armed Forces for reasons of sexual orientation were ordered to be destroyed in 2010; how fully that policy of destruction was implemented; and whether such reasons for dismissal would routinely be included in the Record of Service which each veteran would normally have received on leaving the Armed Forces.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
In 2010 and 2011, most remaining investigative records concerning decriminalised sexual offences were destroyed in line with Ministry of Defence policy and data protection legislation. These records were deemed to have no further investigative value, and there was therefore no basis for further retaining them, particularly where records contain sensitive personal information.
The destruction was implemented as a general policy. It is not possible to establish an accurate statistic on the completeness of implementation. However, is it recognised that some relevant records were not destroyed.
Personnel Service records were not affected by the destruction of investigative records and remain intact. Whether reasons for dismissal were routinely included in the Record of Service provided to Veterans would depend on the specific practices at the time and may require further investigation.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement of 30 June 2025 on Nuclear Test Veteran Records Exercise and the Merlin Database, HCWS748, if he will publish the findings gathered from the 43,000 files which have already been reviewed, in the context of the (a) age and (b) infirmity of the remaining Nuclear Test Veterans.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
This Government has reset the relationship with nuclear test veterans and the organisations that support them, and we remain committed to listening to their concerns and working collaboratively to address them.
As of 30 June 2025, officials have reviewed over 43,000 files, including files from the Merlin Database, as part of the exercise that is looking at concerns raised with me about some Nuclear Test Veterans' medical records. The contents of the Merlin database will be transferred to The National Archives (TNA) as formal public records under the Public Records Act. Records will be held in perpetuity and made available via the public facing online catalogue at TNA called "Discovery". As the records are digital they will be free to download and there will be no limit on the number that can be downloaded.
I will update the House when I am in a position to share the findings of the exercise that is looking at concerns raised with me about some Nuclear Test Veterans' medical records.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement of 30 June 2025 on Nuclear Test Veteran Records Exercise and the Merlin Database, HCWS748, for what reason the Individual Medical Records of military personnel who participated in the nuclear testing programme are not being examined as part of the search for relevant medical data.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
This Government has reset our relationship with nuclear test veterans and the organisations that support them, and we remain committed to listening to their concerns and working collaboratively to address them.
I understand that many are eager for an update on progress on the records exercise. Our focus has been to start by reviewing all surviving policy records and instructions related to blood and urine testing, as well as policies relating to the retention of these records. We have begun with the policy files to ensure there is an understanding of the policy procedures and instructions for medical tests that were given at the time. Doing this first helps us to understand whether policies and instructions were followed. The Ministry of Defence has begun the process of looking at Nuclear Test Veterans' service and medical records.
I will update the House when I am in a position to share the findings of this exercise.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 62523 on Shipping: Russia, if she will publish the instructions her Department has issued in respect of the (a) interception and (b) onboard inspection of vessels suspected of belonging to Russia's shadow fleet when in transit through UK waters.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave on 30 June 2025 to Question 62523. As a signatory of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the UK Government adheres to international maritime law and protects the innocent passage of vessels transiting through UK waters.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her policy is on the (a) tracking, (b) interception and (c) onboard inspection of vessels suspected of belonging to Russia's shadow fleet when in transit through UK waters.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK Government consistently monitors UK waters to uphold the safety of mariners, the marine environment and the UK’s national security, which includes monitoring of tankers that are suspected of being associated with the movement of Russian oil.
As a signatory of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the UK Government adheres to international maritime law and protects the innocent passage of vessels transiting through UK waters.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to (a) increase awareness of, (b) improve screening for and (c) develop research into lobular breast cancer; and what recent discussions his Department has had with NHS England on the (i) prevalence and (ii) detectability of this type of breast cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving the early diagnosis of cancer, including lobular breast cancer, is a priority for NHS England. The National Health Service will improve cancer survival rates and hit all NHS cancer waiting time targets, so that no patient waits longer than they should.
To increase awareness of lobular breast cancer, NHS England and other NHS organisations, nationally and locally, publish information on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer. Further information can be found on the NHS.UK website, which is available at the following link:
The NHS Breast Screening Programme offers all women in England between the ages of 50 and 71 years old the opportunity to be screened every three years for breast cancer, to help detect abnormalities and intervene early to reduce the number of lives lost to breast cancer. However, lobular breast cancer is difficult to detect using imaging scans, such as mammogram.
The Department invests £1.5 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24 reflecting its high priority.
The Department has invested £29 million into the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NIHR Biological Research Centre in 2022, supporting their efforts to strengthen research into cancer, including lobular breast cancer. Wider investments into breast cancer research include a £1.3 million project to determine whether an abbreviated form of breast magnetic resonance imaging can detect breast cancers missed by screening through mammography, including lobular breast cancer.
The Department continues to work closely with NHS England on the development of the National Cancer Plan to achieve the overall goal of fewer lives lost to cancer, including to lobular breast cancer. The plan will be published later this year.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Executive Order entitled Continuing the reduction in the elements of the Federal bureaucracy, published by the President of the United States of America on 14 March 2025, on the Voice of America service, what discussions he has had with the BBC World Service on the future (a) scale and (b) reach of its coverage.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware that the US has announced significant changes to the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), with impacts on media outlets including Voice of America. This is a matter for the US. On the future, I can't get ahead of the allocations process, but Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office staff are in close touch with the BBC on a range of issues. We have regular discussions at both senior and official level, including on World Service impact and reach, because it is right that the World Service innovates and remains nimble to meet the global challenges and needs of the day. Changes would be a decision for the BBC, in line with its operational and editorial independence, although if this were to involve the creation or closing of a full language service, the Foreign Secretary would need to approve that, in line with our Framework Agreement.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will designate a Minister in his Department to (a) have responsibility for the field of cell and gene therapies and (b) chair his Department's Advanced Therapies Medicinal Products Coordination Group.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health, Baroness Merron, is the Minister with responsibility for life sciences and innovation, and cell and gene therapies are included in this remit.
In September 2024, the Department stood up an advanced therapies co-ordination group which aims to create a joined-up ecosystem that will support the development, regulation, and delivery of advanced therapy medicinal products in the United Kingdom. This group is chaired at the Senior Civil Service Grade 1 level. We note the recent report from the Cell and Gene Collective, titled Tomorrow’s Science, Today’s NHS, including the ask for a Minister to chair the group, and we will consider the report’s recommendations in due course.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many sites for reserve forces managed by (a) the Reserve Forces and Cadets Associations and (b) his Department are (i) unusable and (ii) partly unusable because of (A) boiler breakdowns and (B) leaking roofs.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
All Reserve Forces and Cadets sites are managed by the Reserves Forces and Cadets Association (RFCA) and not the Department.
The Volunteer Estate (VE) contains some 5112 buildings, of which 59 (1.15%) are fully or partly unusable due to boiler breakdowns and leaking roofs. Further details can be found in the table below:
Total No. of Buildings Affected | Buildings unusable | Boiler Failure | Leaking Roof | Buildings partly unusable | Boiler Failure | Leaking Roof |
59 | 17 | 9 | 10 | 42 | 17 | 25 |
We are committed to growing the Reserves and Cadets. As part of the plan to do so, we are looking at how we make better use of the resources and infrastructure available.