Written question asked by Peter Bradley (Labour) on Tuesday, 30 March 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 22 April 2004. It was answered by Ivor Caplin (Labour) on Thursday, 22 April 2004 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how long on average it has taken from a claim to an award of the Canal Zone medal. - Inc table.

Answer: Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long on average it has taken from a claim to an award of the Canal Zone Medal. [165484] Mr. Caplin: It is not possible to calculate the average time taken from a claim to an award of a Canal Zone Medal. However, as at 16 April the four single Service medal offices had received 37,512 applications. Many arrived following the Prime Minister's announcement on 11 June 2003 that a medal would be instituted and a large backlog had built up by 23 October 2003 when I announced that medals would now be available. 6,700 medals and/or clasps have been despatched to veterans or their families. The medal offices are currently assessing applications received on the following dates. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Service Medal Office Applications received Royal Navy 8 July 2003 Royal Marines 6 February 2004 Army 31 August 2003 RAF 4 November 2003 _________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 165484; 420 c663W
Session: 2003-04
Subjects: Applications Administrative delays Military decorations Suez (Egypt) General Service Medal Veterans
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk