Written question asked by Jeffrey M Donaldson (Democratic Unionist Party) on Monday, 26 March 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 16 April 2012. It was answered by Lord Robathan (Conservative) on Wednesday, 18 April 2012 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Afghanistan and Iraq

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many children of armed forces personnel have been bereaved as a result of the conflicts in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan.

Answer: [holding answer 16 April 2012]: For those who died as a result of service prior to the introduction of the Armed Forces Compensation scheme (AFCS) on 6 April 2005 payments are made through the War Pension scheme. Between April 2002 and April 2005, some 230 widow(er)s were in receipt of a War Pension that contained an element for children. Our records do not differentiate between the different reasons for these deaths.Since the introduction of the AFCS, more detail is available. From 6 April 2002 to 30 September 2011 some 45 children have been bereaved as a result of deaths arising from service in Iraq, and some 170 children as a result of deaths arising from service in Afghanistan.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 102633; 543 c370W
Session: 2010-12
Subjects: Armed forces Death Armed conflict Iraq Peacekeeping operations Afghanistan
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk