§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance is available for commanders on how best to address family after-care and advice in cases of bereavement or serious training injury; what changes to guidance will be made following the review undertaken by the principal personnel officers; and if he will place copies of advice in the Library. [112631]
§ Mr. MoonieEach of the services has a well-defined and practised casualty reporting procedure with written guidance available to commanders and their staffs involved in bereavement aftercare. The guidance has recently been reviewed and new guidance issued where this was thought necessary. In addition, commanders and their visiting officers who are tasked with assisting bereaved families are able to draw upon the expertise and experience of unit welfare staffs (including service chaplains) and the Casualty Co-ordination Cell in each service. Aftercare guides and videos have been produced in order to help with the training of commanding officers, their personnel staffs and visiting officers.