To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he has taken in response to each of the recommendations of the Board of Inquiry into the Death of Private Alison Croft in October 2002; and what further measures he plans to undertake following the comments of HM Coroner at the conclusion of the inquest into her death on 17 July. (153380)

The Board of Inquiry into the death of Private Croft made nine recommendations to reduce the likelihood of such an incident occurring in the future, namely:

better communication between key personnel in the welfare chain and guidance on when to break the “in confidence” barrier;

provide continuous medical cover at Dalton Barracks to replace ad hoc services;

employment of a military Practice Manager, if a doctor cannot work on a full time basis;

increase the minimum number of padres employed at Dalton Barracks to two;

provide better guidance and training on At Risk Registers;

“flagging” personnel joining units from Phase 1 and 2 training with significant medical histories to the medical and military chain of command;

issue regular guidance to units on dealing with harassment, bullying or intimidation;

improve induction procedures to ensure new arrivals have clear understanding of welfare support available to them;

provide better training on the prevention of suicide at unit and sub unit level.

All the recommendations have been implemented.

The Ministry of Defence always gives careful consideration to the comments made by the Coroner following the conclusion of an Inquest involving Service personnel. In the case of Private Croft, the Coroner did not make any specific comments on further action required.