Armed Forces: Casualties

Ann Winterton
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria the armed forces use to determine whether to report and make public instances of individual service personnel who have been (a) wounded, (b) seriously wounded and (c) killed.

Mr. Hutton
It is MOD policy to publish casualty statistics. These statistics, which cover all those admitted to field hospitals with serious injuries and diseases, are updated on a fortnightly basis. They do not include minor treatments. They are available openly on the MOD website.

The MOD releases the names of deceased personnel after their Next of Kin have been informed. The names of those who have been wounded, whether seriously or otherwise, are not publicized, unless specifically requested by the individual concerned, in order to preserve the privacy of the patient and their family during convalescence.