Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people served in the Armed Forces as Reservists between 2000 and 2015.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Statistics on UK Reserve Forces are published on gov.uk at the following links:
UK Regular Reserve Forces figures between 1 April 1995 - 1 April 2011 have been taken from the UK Reserves And Cadets Strengths available at the following link: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20140116145334/http://www.dasa.mod.uk/index.php/publications/personnel/military/reserves-and-cadets-strengths
UK Volunteer Reserves figures between 1 April 1995 - 1 April 2011 have been taken from the UK Defence Statistics Compendium available at the following link: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20140116145634/http://www.dasa.mod.uk/index.php/publications/UK-defence-statistics-compendium
UK Regular Reserve Forces and Volunteer Reserves figures between 1 April 2012 - 1 April 2015 have been taken from the Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics, the latest edition of the publication is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-2025
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people served in the Armed Forces as Reservists between 1997 and 2015.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Statistics on UK Reserve Forces are published on gov.uk at the following links:
UK Regular Reserve Forces figures between 1 April 1995 - 1 April 2011 have been taken from the UK Reserves And Cadets Strengths available at the following link: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20140116145334/http://www.dasa.mod.uk/index.php/publications/personnel/military/reserves-and-cadets-strengths
UK Volunteer Reserves figures between 1 April 1995 - 1 April 2011 have been taken from the UK Defence Statistics Compendium available at the following link: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20140116145634/http://www.dasa.mod.uk/index.php/publications/UK-defence-statistics-compendium
UK Regular Reserve Forces and Volunteer Reserves figures between 1 April 2012 - 1 April 2015 have been taken from the Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics, the latest edition of the publication is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-2025
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of claimants to the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme who have less than 12 months to live; and whether they are being prioritised.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
IBCA are prioritising claims for those who are sadly nearing the end of their lives, followed by older age groups, as recommended by the Infected Blood Inquiry.
Based on community feedback, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) is prioritising claims for people who have been told by a medical professional that they may have 12 months or less to live. This is regardless of whether they are infected, affected, a beneficiary of an estate of a deceased infected person, or registered with an Infected Blood Support Scheme. IBCA collects information regarding this via their registration service, allowing them to prioritise claims appropriately.
The delivery of compensation is a matter for the IBCA as an operationally independent body. IBCA publishes regular updates on its website of the progress made in delivering compensation, including how many individuals have received compensation payments across all groups. The latest update can be found here: https://ibca.org.uk/statistics/registration-and-compensation-progress-update-9-April-2026.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) capacity of and (b) progress within the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As of 9 April, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) has paid over £2 billion in compensation. As of 1 October 2025, IBCA had asked every living infected person who is registered with a support scheme to come forward and start their claim. IBCA has now opened the service for the first claims from infected people who were never compensated, deceased infected people, and living affected people. This met the Government’s targets for compensation delivery in 2025.
With each new cohort, IBCA are starting small, allowing them to learn what additions to the claim service are needed. This will allow them to open their service to more people as the service is built around specific needs. Whilst the roll out of the scheme is an operational decision for IBCA as an independent body, the Government fully supports its commitment to moving forward as swiftly as possible.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of the claims handlers employed by the Davies Group with authority to negotiate and settle claims on behalf of his Department are (a) full-time employees,(b) part-time employees and (c) agency, contractor or temporary staff.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The resourcing of the contract is a matter for the Davies Group. The Ministry of Defence maintains regular engagement with the Davies Group to provide support as required and to discuss resourcing matters.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Davies Group claims handlers with authority to negotiate and settle Ministry of Defence compensation claims are assigned to claims arising in Northern Ireland or from NI solicitors firms.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The resourcing of the contract is a matter for the Davies Group. The Ministry of Defence maintains regular engagement with the Davies Group to provide support as required and to discuss resourcing matters.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Davies Group claims handlers with authority to negotiate and settle Ministry of Defence compensation claims were assigned to each UK jurisdiction in each of the last five years.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The resourcing of the contract is a matter for the Davies Group. The Ministry of Defence maintains regular engagement with the Davies Group to provide support as required and to discuss resourcing matters.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the ratio is of claims handlers to active compensation claims in each UK jurisdiction in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The resourcing of the contract is a matter for the Davies Group. The Ministry of Defence maintains regular engagement with the Davies Group to provide support as required and to discuss resourcing matters.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average caseload was per Davies Group claims handler authorised to negotiate settlements in each of the last five years.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The resourcing of the contract is a matter for the Davies Group. The Ministry of Defence maintains regular engagement with the Davies Group to provide support as required and to discuss resourcing matters.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the number of Davies Group claims handlers with authority to negotiate resolutions for managing the volume of outstanding civil compensation claims, including noise-induced hearing loss claims.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence and Davies Group continue to monitor closely and flex resources in response to surges in the number of NIHL claims. Davies Group staffing levels have increased over the past twelve months, and a further recruitment campaign is underway. The situation is dynamic and under constant review during frequent and regular communications between the Department and Davies Group.