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Peacekeeping Operations

Volume 481: debated on Monday 20 October 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to improve conditions for Royal Marines wounded in Afghanistan or Iraq requiring hospital treatment. (226883)

The Ministry of Defence and the Defence Medical Services (DMS) are committed to providing a high standard of treatment to our wounded service personnel regardless of service. We review both clinical and administrative aspects of patient care, based on feedback from theatre and hospitals, and implement improvements to them as necessary. The cross-party House of Commons Defence Committee in its February 2008 report on ‘Medical care for the Armed Forces’, declared that:

“The clinical care for Servicemen and women seriously injured on operations is second to none. DMS personnel, working with the NHS, provide world-class care and we pay tribute to them.”

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on transporting family members to airports to meet returning service members coming home from operations in each month since January 2003. (226907)

It is not Ministry of Defence policy to transport family members to airports to meet service personnel returning from operations.