Written question asked by Andrew Dismore (Labour) on Wednesday, 19 July 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 24 July 2006. It was answered by Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour) on Tuesday, 25 July 2006 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Service Personnel (Dismissal)

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel have been sacked from the armed forces on the grounds of their sexuality since the first year for which figures are available; how many have been compensated; what the (a) highest and (b) average amount of compensation is; how many whose cases have not yet been determined remain to be compensated; how many have had compensation refused; how many were denied compensation on a Limitation Act 1980 based defence; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: [holding answer 24 July 2006]: The Ministry of Defence does not hold centralised records of those personnel who left or were dismissed on grounds of their sexual orientation. However, 38 personnel have received compensation. The highest compensation award was £147,875, with the average award being £35,598. 62 claims remain to be settled. 57 had compensation refused. The Ministry of Defence has not relied upon the Limitation Act 1980 in defence of any of these claims.

Secondary information