Veterans: Radiation Exposure
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what stage of the approval process his request of the Advisory Medal Sub-Committee for an expansion of the criteria of the nuclear test medal is at.
Answered by Al Carns
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 at 30 June 2025, officials had 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 Test Veterans. Most recently, the Universities of South Wales and Liverpool led a government-funded oral history project which was published in early July.
In 2024, the eligibility criteria for the Nuclear Test Medal (NTM) were expanded to include UK personnel who actively participated in all US atmospheric tests. Further requests for the expansion of the NTM eligibility criteria may be considered, and any formal proposal to do so would need to be endorsed by the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (HD Committee) and approved by His Majesty The King.
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