Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timetable is for updating Parliament on plans to mediate a solution with nuclear test veterans on their missing medical records.

The Government is deeply grateful to all those who participated in the UK nuclear testing programme. We recognise their Service and the huge contribution they have made to the UK’s security.

I am fully committed to meeting Nuclear Test Veterans, organisations that represent them, and Parliamentarians to discuss the important issue of records. I held a meeting with a Nuclear Test Veteran organisation most recently on 31 March 2025, and I look forward to further engagement, including with Members of Parliament.

We understand the range of concerns from members of the Nuclear Test Veteran community and their families. The records exercise is a priority. While there is no ringfenced budget associated with this exercise, I have directed teams across the Ministry of Defence and Atomic Weapons Establishment to deliver the records exercise in a meaningful way so that I can then update Nuclear Test Veterans and this House about what information the Department holds in relation to the medical testing of Service personnel who took part in the UK nuclear weapons tests. Many officials from across the Department are involved in roles ranging from supporting the recall of files from various archives, to analysing the files. Collating information on the number of officials involved would be time consuming and detract from those officials delivering the records exercise itself.

At this stage, we cannot confirm when the records exercise will be complete. We are not currently certain how many files need to be reviewed, and the content of those files varies significantly over time and between the Services, which were under separate Ministries during the period of the nuclear tests.