Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what data his Department holds on the number of personnel who (a) were exposed to asbestos and (b) sought medical assistance as a result of asbestos exposure in the last 12 months.

Information regarding personnel exposed to asbestos is not held centrally and the number of personnel who were exposed to asbestos in the last 12 months could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Between 1 February 2023 and 31 January 2024, 127 UK Armed Forces personnel had at least one read code related to asbestos exposure entered into their electronic medical record. Of these personnel:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the report entitled Investigation into the alleged exposure of UK Defence Personnel to asbestos during overseas exercises and training since 2018, published on 18 August 2022, how many Armed Forces personnel have been exposed to asbestos during overseas exercises in each year since 2018.

• 114 had at least one read code for history of asbestos exposure.
• 17 had at least one read code for Control of Substances Hazardous to Health: asbestos.
• Fewer than five had at least one read code for asbestosis.

The figures provided by read code do not sum to the total, as some personnel have more than one of the above read codes recorded.

The presence of a read code within the last year does not indicate that the medical appointment was directly related to asbestos exposure. It also does not indicate that the asbestos exposure occurred during the last year, or that exposure occurred whist in Service.