Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many personnel have been injured in the process of testing Ajax armoured vehicles; and how many of these personnel needed hospital treatment.

I take the noble Lord’s question as being in relation to the recent reports of noise and vibration related to Army personnel and in relation to the ongoing Ajax demonstration phase.

Following tests on the noise impact on the inner ear, organised in response to reports of hearing issues, the demonstration phase trials were halted in November 2020 in order that appropriate mitigations could be put in place. All personnel who were at risk of noise exposure were offered hearing assessments. Of these, 21 incidents of hearing treatment have been recorded and, as a precaution, a further 83 soldiers, whilst fully deployable and not currently displaying any signs of noise induced hearing loss, will receive annual hearing tests.

Trials resumed in May 2021 with restrictions on use and extra hearing protection mandated. Notwithstanding these measures this month, two soldiers reported symptoms of noise induced hearing loss, with one more being assessed. In order to ensure that protections are fully appropriate all Ajax activity (including independent testing at the Millbrook Proving Ground) has been paused (other than essential maintenance with mitigations in place).

Regarding vibration: we are aware that five soldiers have specifically reported to their local medical centre with vibration related symptoms, but none required further treatment. There have been no reports of injuries requiring hospital treatment.

At the request of Ministers, the Permanent Secretary established a review of Health and Safety aspects related to the vibration and noise concerns in the demonstration phase. As part of this review medical information (which is subject to confidentiality restrictions and updating) will be considered.