Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2024 to Question 13744 on USA: Veterans, what platforms his Department has used to encourage (a) Service personnel, (b) veterans and (c) dependents previously based in Camp Lejeune to write to his Department for advice.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The Department has released several statements encouraging those who think they may have been affected by contaminated water at Camp Lejeune to contact the Department, through an article on Gov.uk, and on the Department’s social media accounts on platforms such a X. Again, it is worth noting that the US compensation scheme was in place for almost two years before the new Ministerial team were notified and took swift action.

I once again encourage anyone who was based at Camp Lejeune between 1 August 1953 and 31 December 1987 to write to the Ministry of Defence so that we may provide them with the appropriate advice. We take the safety of our personnel very seriously and any veteran that may have served at Camp Lejeune during this period and believe that their health was affected can apply for compensation under the War Pension Scheme.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many wet cargo ships have been boarded by UK authorities in territorial waters for lacking insurance this year.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

No wet cargo ships have been boarded by UK authorities in territorial waters due to a lack of insurance this year.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timetable is for publication of the response to the financial award section of the LGBT Veterans Independent Review, published on 19 July 2023.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

I am pleased to say that on 12 December 2024, during a debate held in Parliament, the Secretary of State announced that the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme would be launched on 13 December 2024, with a budget of £75 million. This Scheme intends to provide recognition to those impacted by the Ban.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) unregistered and (b) uninsured vessels have been boarded by UK authorities in UK territorial waters in 2024.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

No unregistered or uninsured commercial vessels have been boarded by UK authorities in UK territorial waters this year.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2024 to Question 14931 on War Widows Pension Scheme, how many (a) spouses and (b) civil partners have claimed compensation via the War Widows Pension Scheme.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The number of widows' or widowers' claims under the War Pension Scheme (WPS) claims relating to Camp Lejeune is not centrally held.

War Pensions Scheme statistics, including for the War Widows Pension Scheme, are published on gov.uk at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/war-pensions-scheme-statistics-2024

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) unregistered and (b) uninsured vessels do not (i) enter UK territorial waters and (ii) dock at UK ports.

Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNLCOS), the UK (or any state that has subscribed to the agreement) cannot disrupt the transit passage of vessels through its territorial waters for lacking insurance, or being unregistered, as this is not considered to fall within any of the exceptions to passage being ‘innocent passage’.

Refusal to allow a vessel to dock into a UK port is a decision for the port. Vessels docked at a UK port may be subject to a Port State Control inspection. Registration and insurance are part of the documentation that is checked.

Found: Brickell Irene Campbell Ms Nusrat Ghani Clive Jones Lillian Jones James MacClea ry Dr Andrew Murrison

Found: Scrutiny Team Annual Report 2024 ANNEX C External Scrutiny Team Annual Report 202433 RT HON DR ANDREW MURRISON