Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the highest individual settlement paid to an aircrew member has been for the impact of helicopter exhaust fume exposure in each of the last five years.

In the last five financial years, damages have been paid in 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2023-24 to former aircrew who have made common law compensation claims alleging adverse impacts of helicopter exhaust fumes. I have concerns that disclosing individual damages awards risks revealing the identity of individual claimants and I am, therefore, withholding the individual settlements under Freedom of Information Act Section 40(2) to protect personal information as governed by the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR.