Commons Sense

House of Commons · Written Ministerial Statement

Update on Ex-Gratia Scheme Following 2021 Data Incident

04 July 2025 · Ministry of Defence

Proposed by Luke Pollard Lab Co-op Plymouth Sutton and Devonport

Defence

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

View on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Key points

  • The Ministry of Defence will contact individuals affected by the 2021 data incident to confirm their identity.
  • An ex-gratia payment of up to 4,000 will be offered to each eligible individual.
  • The total estimated cost of the ex-gratia scheme is around 1.6 million.

Issue summary

The statement addresses a historical data handling incident involving the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme where sensitive information was inadvertently shared with multiple recipients.

Action requested

The Ministry of Defence will be contacting affected individuals to confirm their identity and provide an ex-gratia payment of up to £4,000 per individual. The total cost is expected to be around £1.6 million.

Key facts

  • 277 individuals were affected by the data incident.
  • Group emails mistakenly made recipients’ email addresses visible in September 2021.
  • A Written Ministerial Statement was laid before the House on 13 December 2023 (HCWS118).
  • The total cost of compensation is expected to be £1.6 million.
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