The Government is deeply grateful to all those who participated in the UK nuclear testing programme. We recognise their service and the huge contribution they have made to the UK’s security.

There is no specific compensation scheme for Nuclear Test Veterans and their families. Any veteran, including those of the nuclear tests, who believes they have suffered ill-health due to service has the right to apply for no-fault compensation under the War Pension Scheme if they served before 6 April 2005. War pensions are payable in respect of illness or injury as a result of service in the Armed Forces, with the benefit of reasonable doubt always given to the claimant. Decisions are medically certified and follow consideration of available service and medical evidence and carry full rights of appeal to an independent tribunal.

The review of records commissioned by my colleague, the Minister for Veterans and People, is ongoing. This work will enable us to better understand what information the Department holds regarding medical testing of Service personnel who took part in the UK nuclear weapons tests, ensuring that relevant information has been examined thoroughly. We will update Parliament at the earliest opportunity once this work is complete.

The War Pensions Computer System currently lacks the capability to uniquely identify individuals who participated in nuclear tests. While the claim file might contain a copy of the Nuclear Test Veterans Priority Claim Request or other relevant information indicating the claimant's involvement in nuclear testing, this information is not consistently available.

To accurately determine the number of Nuclear Test Veterans who applied for or received compensation, or those who passed away before their application was reviewed, would require a manual interrogation of all War Pension files and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

Statistics on the War Pensions Scheme are published by the Ministry of Defence at the following link:

www.gov.uk/government/collections/war-pension-recipients-index

This Government is deeply grateful to all those who participated in the UK nuclear testing programme. We recognise their Service and the huge contribution they have made to the UK’s security.

A priority for the Government when we entered office was to reset our relationship with Nuclear Test Veterans. This has been done through Ministerial and official-level meetings with organisations representing Nuclear Test Veterans and with Parliamentarians, and initiatives including the records review. No standalone announcement was made about this reset, but we have referred to it in public statements and in Parliament. The Secretary of State for Defence and the Minister for Veterans and People most recently met a Nuclear Test Veteran organisation and members of Parliament on 1 September 2018.

This Government has reset the relationship with nuclear test veterans and the organisations that support them, and we remain committed to listening to their concerns and working collaboratively to address them.

As of 30 June 2025, officials have reviewed over 43,000 files, including files from the Merlin Database, as part of the exercise that is looking at concerns raised with me about some Nuclear Test Veterans’ medical records. I will update the House when we are in a position to share the findings of the exercise.

This Government continues to celebrate the stories of our nuclear veterans. Most recently the Universities of South Wales and Liverpool led a government-funded oral history project which was published in early July.

Nuclear test veterans who believe they have suffered ill health due to service have the existing and long standing right to apply for no-fault compensation under the War Pensions Scheme.

This Government has reset the relationship with nuclear test veterans and the organisations that support them, and we remain committed to listening to their concerns and working collaboratively to address them.

As of 30 June 2025, officials have reviewed over 43,000 files, including files from the Merlin Database, as part of the exercise that is looking at concerns raised with me about some Nuclear Test Veterans’ medical records. I will update the House when we are in a position to share the findings of the exercise.

This Government continues to celebrate the stories of our nuclear veterans. Most recently the Universities of South Wales and Liverpool led a government-funded oral history project which was published in early July.

Nuclear test veterans who believe they have suffered ill health due to service have the existing and long standing right to apply for no-fault compensation under the War Pensions Scheme.

Iron Dome is Israel’s approach to Integrated Air and Missile Defence, it is based upon the threat Israel faces, its geography and capability. The Strategic Defence Review has considered similar factors for the UK Homeland and announced up to £1 billion investment in air and missile defence of the UK. Specific decisions on the UK’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence will follow through the Defence Investment Plan which is in development within the Ministry of Defence and due for publication in autumn 2025.

This Government is deeply grateful to all those who participated in the UK nuclear testing programme. We recognise their Service and the huge contribution they have made to the UK’s security.

Around 22,000 Nuclear Test Veterans were considered in an analysis of the data in the Nuclear Weapons Test Participants Study – a long-term epidemiological study of the health of veterans who were present at UK nuclear testing between 1952 and 1967. Four analyses of this data to date, concluded that Nuclear Test Veterans have a similar incidence of cancer and, in general, a longer healthy life expectancy than the control group. The possibility that test participation caused an increase in risk of leukaemia cannot be ruled out. Our policy is therefore to award a war pension for claims for leukaemia having clinical onset within 25 years of presence at test sites.

Nuclear Test Veterans and their entitled family members are already eligible to apply for compensation under the War Pension Scheme. There is no time limit for claiming, however if a claim is made more than seven years after termination of service, as would be the case for Nuclear Test Veterans, the claimant is granted the benefit of doubt when there is uncertainty about whether the disablement is linked to or worsened by their service. Factors such as being on operations or in a hazardous environment can support a service-related claim. Claims handlers will review historical records, including medical records, to establish a causal link to service for Nuclear Test Veterans seeking compensation.

This Government has no current plans to develop a specific compensation scheme for either Nuclear Test Veterans or their families.

Ministers are keen to engage with the issue of records head on and have repeatedly met with MPs and groups in the nuclear test veteran community to discuss a range of topics. The Minister for Veterans and People, Al Carns, has commissioned officials across the Ministry of Defence, as a priority, to look at what information may be held by the Department. An update on the progress to date will be provided before summer recess.

Four analyses of an independent epidemiological study have previously been carried out, the latest report was published in 2022. This report concluded that overall levels of mortality and cancer incidence in nuclear test veterans have continued to be similar to those in a matched Service control group, and lower than in the general population.

It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the noble Lord’s Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

The UK remains committed to Baltic and NATO security through a variety of means, including its commitment to the Enhanced Forward Presence deployment, NATO Air Policing, and the Joint Expeditionary Force. The Secretary of State for Defence regularly meets with his Estonian counterpart to discuss military contributions to European defence and security, having met most recently on 26 March 2025.