Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November to Question 70978 on Armed Forces: Huntington’s Disease, what criteria his Department uses to qualify a person at risk of Huntington's disease to be medically unfit to serve in the Armed Forces.

Joint Service Publication 950, Medical Policy, sets out the following criteria:

• Candidates known to be carriers of the gene associated with Huntington's disease are normally graded medically unfit for Service.

• Candidates with a proven, immediate family history of this condition are also normally graded medically unfit unless known not to carry the gene.

As stated in the answer to Question 70978, if there is clear evidence that a candidate is unlikely to develop Huntington's disease during a Service career then they may, on a case by case basis, be considered medically fit for service. It is for the candidate to provide this evidence, which must be supported by an appropriately qualified and experienced specialist.