Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-10-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the annual average cost to the Ministry of Defence of (a) maintaining each grave for which it is responsible and (b) the value of the grant made to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in respect of each grave maintained by that Commission.

Mark Lancaster

Discussions between Ministry Of Defence (MOD) and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) are continuing regarding the transfer of maintenance responsibility for the graves of military personnel buried in the UK since 1948.

Annual costs for the maintenance of each grave for which MOD is responsible are estimated to be between £65 and £205 depending on the location and condition of the grave. The MOD’s annual grant to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in respect of the graves they maintain is in excess of £47 million.