Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress he has made on implementing the recommendations of the LGBT Veterans Independent Review, published on 19 July 2023.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Government has accepted the recommendations of the LGBT Veterans Independent Review, including the financial award scheme. Defence continues to work at pace across Government to deliver the intent behind the report’s recommendations, and as of 1 February 2024, 26 of the 49 recommendations have already been made available.
Defence encourages those affected to register their interest in applying for restorative measures by completing the application form available on the following page: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lgbt-veterans-support-and-next-steps. Such registrations of interest will enable us to learn more about the affected community and thereby design the most suitable scheme possible.
There is and has been extensive engagement with Fighting with Pride at official and Ministerial level. Defence will continue to engage with LGBT veterans as plans for the financial award progress and is committed to providing updates on the development of the scheme; eligibility criteria; and information on the application process at the above-mentioned page.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the inclusivity of his Department’s LGBT+ policies.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Defence is proud of all our LGBT+ military and civilian personnel, and the significant contribution they make to ensure national security, support our national interests, and safeguard our prosperity. It is essential to Defence operational effectiveness that we build a more inclusive and diverse organisation to achieve a stronger, healthier, and more resilient workforce and maximise the talent of all our people.
We are committed to continue working with our LGBT+ networks to improve the lived experience of Service personnel and civilian staff. These networks provide excellent support to the LGBT+ community through conferences, communications, and engagement, and direct support to individuals as required.
Our Armed Forces and civilian personnel regularly take part in London Pride, in addition to other Pride events across the country. Attendance at Pride events by Defence LGBT+ personnel is a powerful demonstration of how inclusive an employer Defence is and the extent to which we represent UK society. Uniformed personnel make a very public statement that you can be LGBT+ and serve your country. This challenges stereotypes and misconceptions held by serving personnel, potential recruits and gatekeepers, veterans, and the public.
Defence is committed to taking forward restorative action for LGBT individuals who were impacted by historic policies. It is a priority for us to implement the vast majority of recommendations from the Lord Etherton report and guarantee that our LGBT+ personnel remain properly supported.
Work is ongoing to update internal Defence policies and processes. We have streamlined the process for registering Armed Forces Chapels for marriage of both opposite sex and same sex couples, making it quicker and easier. Given that only two Armed Forces Chapels in England and Wales are currently registered for same-sex couples’ marriage, this change will have a highly positive impact on our LGBT+ community. Looking to the future, we are working to ensure this process is as fast as it can be, to affirm equal opportunity for our serving personnel, their close family members and veterans. We are also working to update the online human resources system for the Armed Forces with more declaration categories for faith and belief, gender, and sexual orientation. This will help to improve declaration rates which will allow us to target support where it is most needed.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have been prescribed Mefloquine by pharmacies under a contract with his Department since 2017.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Anti-malaria drugs, including mefloquine, are only prescribed after a face-to-face individual risk assessment. The recommended anti-malaria drug is determined by the sensitivity of malaria parasites to those drugs in different parts of the world based on Public Health England guidance.
Mefloquine is only prescribed by a doctor and after other alternatives have been identified as unsuitable and is not prescribed to divers, aircrew, or air traffic controllers.
In all cases, the authority and supply details for anti-malarial drugs are recorded on the individual’s medical note, and personnel supplied with anti-malarial drugs are issued copies of all manufacturer-provided patient documentation relevant to that drug.
Between 1 January 2017 and 30 September 2023, there were 210 prescriptions for mefloquine issued to 172 UK Armed Forces personnel.
Prescriptions for military personnel, issued by community pharmacies under contract with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), are captured in the data.
Armed Forces personnel are advised to inform Defence healthcare if they receive healthcare outside of the MOD to ensure it is captured on their healthcare record.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, under which circumstances members of the British Armed Forces are issued with Mefloquine.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Anti-malaria drugs, including mefloquine, are only prescribed after a face-to-face individual risk assessment. The recommended anti-malaria drug is determined by the sensitivity of malaria parasites to those drugs in different parts of the world based on Public Health England guidance.
Mefloquine is only prescribed by a doctor and after other alternatives have been identified as unsuitable and is not prescribed to divers, aircrew, or air traffic controllers.
In all cases, the authority and supply details for anti-malarial drugs are recorded on the individual’s medical note, and personnel supplied with anti-malarial drugs are issued copies of all manufacturer-provided patient documentation relevant to that drug.
Between 1 January 2017 and 30 September 2023, there were 210 prescriptions for mefloquine issued to 172 UK Armed Forces personnel.
Prescriptions for military personnel, issued by community pharmacies under contract with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), are captured in the data.
Armed Forces personnel are advised to inform Defence healthcare if they receive healthcare outside of the MOD to ensure it is captured on their healthcare record.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times Mefloquine has been issued to service personnel since 2017.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Anti-malaria drugs, including mefloquine, are only prescribed after a face-to-face individual risk assessment. The recommended anti-malaria drug is determined by the sensitivity of malaria parasites to those drugs in different parts of the world based on Public Health England guidance.
Mefloquine is only prescribed by a doctor and after other alternatives have been identified as unsuitable and is not prescribed to divers, aircrew, or air traffic controllers.
In all cases, the authority and supply details for anti-malarial drugs are recorded on the individual’s medical note, and personnel supplied with anti-malarial drugs are issued copies of all manufacturer-provided patient documentation relevant to that drug.
Between 1 January 2017 and 30 September 2023, there were 210 prescriptions for mefloquine issued to 172 UK Armed Forces personnel.
Prescriptions for military personnel, issued by community pharmacies under contract with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), are captured in the data.
Armed Forces personnel are advised to inform Defence healthcare if they receive healthcare outside of the MOD to ensure it is captured on their healthcare record.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, If he will publish his Department's proposals to compensate war widows who lost their War Widow's Pension and did not benefit from changes on 31 March 1973 and 5 April 2005.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The War Widows Recognition Payment was announced in Parliament on 17 May 2023. A further announcement with details on taxation was made by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 19 September 2023. On 16 October 2023 the full policy was launched and details are available at the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/war-widowers-recognition-payment
As at 19 January 2024, the number of War Widows Recognition Payments awarded was 100.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, How many war widows who lost their War Widow's Pension and did not benefit from changes on 31 March 1973 and 5 April 2005 have since been compensated by his Department.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The War Widows Recognition Payment was announced in Parliament on 17 May 2023. A further announcement with details on taxation was made by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 19 September 2023. On 16 October 2023 the full policy was launched and details are available at the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/war-widowers-recognition-payment
As at 19 January 2024, the number of War Widows Recognition Payments awarded was 100.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Afghans are accommodated in (a) camps and (b) other sites operated by his Department.
Answered by James Heappey
As of 18 January 2024, our records show 775 Afghans eligible for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme (principal applicants and family members) are accommodated in reception sites at Ministry of Defence (MOD) camps. A further 850 ARAP Eligible Afghans (principal applicants and family members) are in transitional Service Family Accommodation at other MOD sites.
These sites provide short-term accommodation for individuals and their families prior to onwards movement into settled accommodation.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking in respect of people who have applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme and who have not yet been contacted by his Department.
Answered by James Heappey
The Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) is one of the most generous relocation programmes in the world. It is not time-limited and will endure, facilitating the relocation of eligible Afghans and their families.
The ARAP Casework team will contact the applicants for requests for information during the eligibility process, and to provide updates on their application. We continue to receive ARAP applications at an unprecedented rate and more than 115,000 have been received since ARAP began in April 2021. I would like to assure the hon. Member that we are working at pace to consider each application on a case-by-case basis as quickly as possible and respond to applicants as soon as we can.
Applicants who wish to have updates of their case may contact the ARAP Casework team.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will clarify the legal position on British citizens who (a) have travelled or (b) plan to travel to Ukraine to fight against Russian armed forces.
Answered by James Heappey
We advise against all travel to Ukraine.
Depending on the planned activity and the circumstances, travel to engage in overseas conflict could give rise to offences under UK law, including terrorism and war crimes. There are also laws preventing British subjects in certain circumstances engaging in military service for a foreign state under Foreign Enlistment Act 1870. Cases would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The UK possesses a range of tools to disrupt and investigate outbound travel where there is a national security case for doing so. This includes our Schedule 7 powers under the Terrorism Act 2000, which enables counter-terrorism police to stop, question and when necessary, detain and search a person travelling through a UK port to determine whether that person is or has been involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.