Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether nuclear test veterans whose health data is incomplete should submit subject access requests to his Department to recover this information.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Nuclear test veterans are entitled to use the existing subject access request process to apply for their records. Medical records, if available, will be released as part of that process, however it is not possible to determine exactly what information or records will be yielded until searches are conducted following receipt of an individual’s request.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families of 11 September 2023, Official Report, column 652, in response to the oral question of the hon. Member for Barnsley East, to whom nuclear test veterans should submit a subject access request for their health records.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
A veteran, or representative acting on their behalf, can make a Subject Access Request (SAR) to the relevant military Service, Veterans UK or the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) to gain access to records held on them. Information is provided under ‘General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Chapter 3, Article 15 – Right of access’. Guidance is set out on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/obtain-information-about-yourself-held-by-mod. Further information on submitting a SAR to AWE specifically can be found here: https://www.awe.co.uk/freedom-of-information-act/
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether files have been removed from his Department's health records of nuclear test veterans.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Any medical records taken either before, during or after participation at the UK nuclear weapon tests would be held in individual military medical records in the Government's archives. Veterans UK also hold War Disablement Pension files which are created when an individual is either medically discharged or submits a claim for a War Pension. These can contain discharge information, medical reports, service record documentation and various administrative papers. Case papers, such as additional medical reports and claims, are then added to the file when received. Where these files indicate service in a nuclear test area, they have been set aside from the other war pension files to aid location in the event of a compensation claim. The Ministry of Defence is not aware of any files being removed from these records.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) algorithmic and (b) other automated decision making systems his Department uses; and for what purposes.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence Artificial Intelligence use cases span the full spectrum of Ministry of Defence outputs, from the back-office to the frontline:
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on ensuring Nuclear Test Veterans receive their medals before Remembrance Day 2023.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 June 2023 to Question 189445 to the hon. Member for Luton South (Ms Hopkins).
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure of 14 June 2023 at Topical Questions, T7, Official Report, column 286, what plans his Department has to (a) utilise the provisions in Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill and (b) use smart data in new sectors.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There is exciting potential to explore Smart Data in further sectors, beyond Open Banking. Government, regulators and industry experts are working together via the Smart Data Council to ensure that the UK continues to be at the forefront of developments in this space.
Before committing to utilise the provisions in Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information (No.2) Bill in any given sector, there is work to be done to understand how Smart Data can empower consumers and turbo charge competition.
More generally, the Ministry of Defence continues to drive the delivery and realisation of both its Digital Strategy for Defence and Data Strategy for Defence, while aligning with wider Government policy on data-sharing and interoperability.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of covering strikes by military personnel on the work of the British Armed Forces.
Answered by James Heappey
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I previously gave on 15 December 2022 to Question 108382.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of his policy on reducing the size of the full-time British Army to 73,000 soldiers on its ability to respond to global threats.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence is reviewing whether it is now right to reduce the Regular Army to 73,000, as planned under Future Soldier. That process is ongoing.
Through an adaptive approach, personnel numbers and force design are determined to ensure Defence remains threat-led and the Armed Forces remain ready to deter and defend the nation should they be called upon to do so.
Any specific policy changes or updates required related to defence capability and force design will be determined once the update to the Defence Command Paper has concluded.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce the size of the full-time British Army to 73,000 soldiers; and which regiments will be affected by this policy.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence is reviewing whether it is now right to reduce the Regular Army to 73,000, as planned under Future Soldier. That process is ongoing.
Through an adaptive approach, personnel numbers and force design are determined to ensure Defence remains threat-led and the Armed Forces remain ready to deter and defend the nation should they be called upon to do so.
Any specific policy changes or updates required related to defence capability and force design will be determined once the update to the Defence Command Paper has concluded.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he will take to ensure that a reduction in the number of Army personnel does not inhibit the UK from meeting its defence commitments to NATO.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence is reviewing whether it is now right to reduce the Regular Army to 73,000, as planned under Future Soldier. That process is ongoing.
Defence is committed to remaining a leading contributor to NATO and our approach and force development are deliberately aligned to the new NATO Strategic Concept and designed to promote interoperability and facilitate collaboration.
Any specific policy changes or updates required related to defence capability and force design will be determined once the update to the Defence Command Paper has concluded.