Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many applications his Department has received for the Nuclear Test Medal.

The total number of Nuclear Test Medal (NTM) applications received as at 16 October 2023 was 3,198 and 1,060 awards have been issued so far.

The initial priority was given to veterans who had applied prior to 18 September 2023 with applications from those over 90 and/or the terminally ill reviewed first. The MOD is now starting to issue medals to widows who had applied prior to 18 September 2023, whilst continuing to process new cases from veterans. Once widow applications have been processed this will be followed by the processing of applications from other next of kin.