Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many deaths of serving on-duty military personnel have occurred in Scotland since 1990; and what investigations the Ministry of Defence has conducted into such deaths.

From 1 January 1990 to 27 January 2019, 98 UK Armed Forces personnel have died whilst on duty in Scotland.

A detailed breakdown of the causes of UK Armed Forces Deaths whilst on duty in Scotland by Service and Cause of Death from 1 January 1990 to 27 January 2019 is shown in the attached table.

The investigation of deaths, whether they are military or civilian lies with the Scottish Government and the Crown Office of the Procurator Fiscal/Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit. The decision to conduct Fatal Accident Investigations is for the Crown Office of the Procurator Fiscal in conjunction with the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit. The Ministry of Defence will always support the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit in its investigations in an open and honest manner.

An internal Ministry of Defence investigation is carried out following any death, very serious injury or serious injury of a Service Person, including natural causes whether they are on or off duty. The internal investigation includes an overview of the event, what happened, to whom, when and why. These accounts are conducted expeditiously after the event (within five days if possible) and are designed to be a swift capture of the events and aimed to identify any immediate lessons that may have been found. The internal investigations also present recommendations to prevent any recurrence of a similar incident where possible. These investigations are always shared with the Crown Office/Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit.