Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what financial support his Department provides for the maintenance and care of war graves in Shropshire; and how his Department coordinates that maintenance with the Church of England.

The care and maintenance of the graves of those personnel who lost their lives in the two World Wars throughout the UK is undertaken on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The Department provides an annual Grant-in-Aid contribution to the Commission to fund the enduring work and in doing so provides the largest element of the Commission’s funding. In taking this work forward the Commission and the MOD engage with the relevant authorities as required, including the Church of the England.