Every parliamentary written question tabled by Emma Lewell this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 21–27 of 27 · Ministry of Defence
What the total cost was of the sums agreed by his Department with Hilary Meredith Solicitors Ltd in connection with cases relating to the use of Lariam by armed forces personnel; and how many such claims have been settled.
Damages have been settled in all 434 claims brought by Hilary Meredith Solicitors against the Ministry of Defence relating to the use of Lariam. The claimants' legal costs have still to be resolved.
For what reason his Department's settlement of Lariam claims involved a non-disclosure agreement with solicitors acting for veteran claimants.
Hilary Meredith Solicitors and the Ministry of Defence agreed to the inclusion of a confidentiality clause in the court order covering the damages settlement. It is a common feature of out of court settlements to keep confidential the amount of damages paid to claimants as well as the amount of legal costs paid to their solicitors.
What information his Department holds on the prevalence of asbestos in (a) defence equipment platforms and (b) his Department's (i) buildings and (ii) other infrastructure.
We take the health and safety of our Service personnel and defence employees extremely seriously and have robust procedures for managing asbestos which comply with Health and Safety regulations. Asbestos registers are held for Defence Equipment Platforms along with asbestos elimination/management plans that detail the quantity of Asbestos Containing Material (ACM) present. An annual report is submitted to the Health and Safety Executive on the progress made in eliminating asbestos from Defence Equipment Platforms. The Department is responsible for circa 1,967 sites and each building with confirmed asbestos is listed on the relevant site asbestos register.
How many nuclear veterans have (a) applied for and (b) been refused compensation under the War Pension Scheme.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 13419 on 19 November 2024 to the hon.Member for the Wrekin (Mark Pritchard).
What his Department's timetable is for its review of the medical records of nuclear veterans.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 17507 on 12 December 2024 to the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Sir John Hayes).
Pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2024 to Question 12460 on AUKUS, whether he has received Sir Stephen Lovegrove’s report on AUKUS; and when he plans to publish that report.
An extension was provided to allow Sir Stephen Lovegrove to gather all the necessary information, and we are now awaiting his final report. An unclassified version of his report will be published in due course.
With reference to the Answer of 17 April 2024 to Question 21056 on Defence: Artificial Intelligence, whether the Capability Lead, AI Talent and Skills is now in post.
Yes, I can confirm that there is an incumbent in post as of June 2024. The individual has made some good early progress working collaboratively with Digital Skills for Defence (DS4D), the Defence Academy Shrivenham, and other relevant stakeholders.