Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will carry out an independent qualitative assessment of the psychological and workplace stresses on the operators of remotely piloted air systems.

Mr Mark Francois

The Ministry of Defence currently has no plans to undertake an independent qualitative assessment of the psychological and workplace stresses on the operators of remotely piloted air systems.

The health and wellbeing of all of our Armed Forces personnel is of the utmost importance. We are mindful of the pressure and stresses that service personnel may be subjected to when supporting enduring intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations. These personnel are carefully monitored and where appropriate have access to the highest levels of military physical and mental health care. Looking after our people is one of the critical roles for our front-line commanders and they keenly focus on the well-being of their people.