Written question asked by Mike Penning (Conservative) on Thursday, 21 July 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 10 October 2005. It was answered by Lord Touhig (Labour) on Monday, 10 October 2005 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Military Personnel (Medals)

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military personnel who have served (a) in Operation Telic in Iraq and (b) in Afghanistan since 2001 have been awarded a medal; how many eligible personnel have not received a medal; how many personnel who have fulfilled the minimum criteria for long service have not yet been awarded the relevant medal; what the average timescale between qualifying for such awards and issue is; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: It is not possible to answer the question fully because the information is either not held or broken down in the manner requested.As at 26 September 2005, 92,171 applications have been received for the Iraq Medal. Of these, 81,344 have been assessed and 10,827 are awaiting assessment. There is a three-month timescale from receipt of application to issue of medal.As at 26 September 2005, 3,609 applications have been received for the Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan. Of these, 916 have been assessed and 2,693 are awaiting assessment. Applications are cleared within three months of receipt.Medals for long Service are dealt with in order of receipt and, under normal circumstances, are cleared within three months. There are currently 1,228 outstanding.

Secondary information