Whistleblowers who make a protected disclosure are protected under the provisions of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

The Department for Business, Science, Innovation and Trade plans to consult on whistleblowing in due course.

Information regarding items recovered from wrecks, which is provided to the Receiver of Wreck as required under section 236 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 is routinely available under the Freedom of Information Act and is not subject to any exemptions.

My Department has made no specific assessment of the adequacy of planning guidance in accounting for the potential presence of undocumented military remains where local authority records are known to be incomplete.

The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that local planning authorities (LPAs) should require developers to undertake appropriate assessments where a development site includes, or has the potential to include, heritage assets with archaeological interest.

LPAs should also maintain, or have access to, a historic environment record containing up-to-date evidence about the historic environment in their area. This should be used to predict the likelihood that currently unidentified heritage assets, particularly sites of historic and archaeological interest, will be discovered in the future.

The Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) works closely with other stakeholders, including the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), the Air Historical Branch (AHB) and local authorities to assess whether a licence should be issued according to the Protection of Military Remains Act (PoMRA)

guidelines. For a licence to be issued all requirements must be observed and adhered to. Full details of PoMRA can be found at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/35/contents

JCCC also works closely with the Historic England heritage crime prevention leads to monitor feedback on the process across the UK. To date, JCCC is not aware of any humans remains having been recovered during a major infrastructure which was not licenced.

JCCC does not require a survey to be undertaken, although for major infrastructure projects these are often carried out by the contractor responsible for the project before any digging commences. JCCC will usually only become aware of the intent to excavate the site of an aircraft crash through the receipt of a licence application. Occasionally, a third party may make JCCC aware of planned works. In these instances, if there is concern that the work at the site may disturb a crash site then JCCC would reach out to the contractor responsible to advise them of their responsibilities under the Act.

The role of JCCC is to process license applications subject to the criteria of the Act. On receipt of an application, checks are made with the DIO and against historic casualty records with the AHB, and a decision is made on whether to issue a licence or not based on the likelihood of human remains or unexploded ordnance being present at the site.

In circumstances where the scale of the infrastructure project means that a licence can be granted despite the possibility of human remains or ordnance being present, the applicant will be advised accordingly for their own safety and to preserve the dignity of any human remains which could be recovered. JCCC does not physically oversee excavations. 66 licences have been issued in the past 5 years, with many of these having been issued for infrastructure projects.

Guidelines on how to apply for a licence and further details of the process and regulations can be found at the following gov.uk link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/aviation-archaeology

When a POMRA licence is issued a covering letter lists caveats and considerations that must be adhered to including what to do if human remains are disturbed or ordnance found.

Further to the information provided to the noble Lady in February 2022, January 2023 and September 2024, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) has made notable progress in identifying 23 Egyptian Labour Corps and Camel Transport Corps personnel at Haifa War Cemetery. These men, whose graves cannot be individually identified amongst almost 90 of their unknown comrades, will receive special markers within the cemetery for the first time since the First World War. While ongoing instability in the region limits what can be achieved on the ground in the short term, preparations have been made to produce the headstones in readiness for more favourable conditions.

The CWGC continues to work to recover the names of the 16,500 other Egyptian personnel known to have died across the Middle East in British service during the First World War. These men have only ever been commemorated collectively by the Commission’s Giza Memorial. The records sought, if they survive, are believed to be in the possession of the Egyptian state archives or one or more departments of the Government of Egypt. CWGC continues to raise this matter with the Egyptian authorities but is yet to gain access to the information it requires.

The Commission's wider historical research in archives across Africa and Europe continues to make positive progress in revealing the names of those previously not commemorated, and in mapping potential burial sites. To date, more than 20,600 names have been recovered, and CWGC is actively working to commemorate these individuals in a manner befitting their service and loss.

The sinking of the SS Tilawa, and many other merchant vessels during the world wars, represents a tragic loss of life that we must all strive to remember and reflect upon. It is right that we honour and recognise this sacrifice and strive to ensure the grave sites of those who have been lost receive appropriate protection. While the specific scope and purpose of the Armed Forces Bill preclude such an extension to merchant wrecks, we will continue to ensure underwater cultural heritage receives the highest levels of protection available in accordance with international law and best practice.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided by the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa on 13 February in response to Question 111058, which - for ease of reference - is reproduced below:

The Gaza War Cemetery in al-Tuffah holds the remains of more than 3,000 men who gave their lives in the First and Second World Wars, the majority from the United Kingdom, but many also from Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa and other countries. As I said in the General Debate on 5 February, that includes Private William Jordan and Private Wilfrid Ogden, from my own constituency, who died during the Battles for Gaza in 1917.

There is justifiable distress in our country and elsewhere at the reports that the cemetery has been damaged by Israeli bulldozers, and we also deplore the reports that the cemetery has been used for Hamas military operations. Brave servicemen laid to rest overseas should never have had their graves defiled in this way. Alongside our international partners, we are raising our concerns about this with the Israeli authorities, and we will work with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to ensure that - when the circumstances allow - they are able to go to Gaza, assess what damage has been done, and do what is necessary to repair that damage.

The Gaza War Cemetery in al-Tuffah holds the remains of more than 3,000 men who gave their lives in the First and Second World Wars, the majority from the United Kingdom, but many also from Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa and other countries. As I said in the General Debate on 5 February, that includes Private William Jordan and Private Wilfrid Ogden, from my own constituency, who died during the Battles for Gaza in 1917.

There is justifiable distress in our country and elsewhere at the reports that the cemetery has been damaged by Israeli bulldozers, and we also deplore the reports that the cemetery has been used for Hamas military operations. Brave servicemen laid to rest overseas should never have had their graves defiled in this way. Alongside our international partners, we are raising our concerns about this with the Israeli authorities, and we will work with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to ensure that - when the circumstances allow - they are able to go to Gaza, assess what damage has been done, and do what is necessary to repair that damage.

During the Financial Year 2024-25, the Ministry of Defence paid the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) £56.31 Million Grant-in-Aid funding so that it may continue to honour, in perpetuity, the 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died during the First and Second World Wars by caring for 23,000 war memorials and war cemeteries around the world. Within CWGC’s North East region, more than 22,500 personnel are commemorated at almost 1,360 locations, including war memorials and cemeteries in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham, Yorkshire and Humberside.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) updates their website on the condition of sites in challenging locations around the world. The Commission reports that as a result of the recent conflict in Gaza, both the Gaza War Cemetery and the Deir El Balah War Cemetery have suffered extensive damage including to approximately 10% of the headstones.

A more detailed assessment cannot be carried out until the current situation subsides. The CWGC will, however, restore those sites to a befitting standard as and when circumstances allow. Until then, the locally employed maintenance team remain temporarily relocated outside Gaza.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) updates their website on the condition of sites in challenging locations around the world. The Commission reports that as a result of the recent conflict in Gaza, both the Gaza War Cemetery and the Deir al Balah War Cemetery have suffered extensive damage, including to approximately 10% of the headstones.

A more detailed assessment cannot be carried out until the current situation subsides. The CWGC will, however, restore those sites to a befitting standard as and when circumstances allow. Until then, the locally employed maintenance team remain temporarily relocated outside Gaza.

The annual funding for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC’s) is split between the six member countries, in proportion to the number of war dead from each nation. The United Kingdom is by far the largest contributor at 78.4%.

Defence officials work very closely with the CWGC each year to set the annual budget, and therefore funding, for the following year. This work takes account of any specific requirements or projects that may be forecast, whilst also ensuring that the Commission works effectively and efficiently.

On that basis, the Ministry of Defence will continue to provide adequate funding going forwards.

The term “war graves” is one which applies to the final resting places of fallen soldiers on land, and locations designated as a war grave by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

However, as a matter of customary international law, all naval warships, state vessels and associated artefacts are afforded protection through the principle of Sovereign Immunity. The UK is of the view that, unless expressly relinquished or abandoned by the Flag State, the Sovereign Immunity of the wreck of any Crown vessel remains in place, regardless of where the wreck in question is located, and those who lost their lives in service of our country should be left in situ and undisturbed.

Some warships are also afforded additional protection under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) reports that as a result of the recent conflict in Gaza, both the Gaza War Cemetery and the Deir al Balah War Cemetery have suffered extensive damage, including to approximately 10% of the headstones.

A more detailed assessment cannot be carried out until the current situation subsides. The CWGC will, however, restore those sites to a befitting standard as and when circumstances allow. Until then, the locally employed maintenance team remain temporarily relocated outside Gaza.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is aware that both Gaza and Deir el Belah War Cemeteries have been damaged, but the full extent is not yet clear. A more detailed assessment cannot be carried out until the current situation subsides.

The CWGC will, however, restore those sites to a befitting standard as and when circumstances allow.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) maintain 185 graves, mostly of the fallen from the two World Wars at Dido Valley Cemetery, and (on behalf of the Ministry of Defence) 41 graves from the Anglo-Boer War at the Seaforth Cemetery in Simon’s Town, South Africa.

Maintenance includes ensuring that headstones and memorials are kept clean and in good condition through repair of weather or other damage, and that the surrounding gardens are also in keeping with CWGC standards. Further detail can be found at https://www.cwgc.org/our-work/caring-for-our-sites/.