Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answers of 28 October 2024 to Questions 4187, 4188, and 4189 on USA: Veterans, whether he has held discussions with veterans organisations on encouraging Camp Lejeune veterans to come forward if they believe they have been affected by contaminated water.

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.

The US compensation scheme had been running for almost two years at the point it was raised on 30 July 2024 to the new Ministerial team. Immediate instruction was given to Service Chiefs to communicate the scheme to anyone who may have been based at Camp Lejeune between 1 August 1953 and 31 December 1987, as well as on Ministry of Defence external channels.