PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Ukraine: Armed Forces (4 September 2024)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of providing (a) eyewear and (b) eye tests for Ukrainian troops being trained in the UK on the health and wellbeing of those troops; and what estimate he has made of the financial value of optician vouchers offered to those troops in the last 12 months.

Asked by:
Dr Andrew Murrison (Conservative)

The UK takes the health and wellbeing of Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) personnel extremely seriously while they are training on Operation INTERFLEX, however, it is the responsibility of the AFU to screen all AFU personnel prior to their participation in UK based training.

Under Operation INTERFLEX, the UK provides AFU personnel with eyewear (spectacles and eye protection) where it is required, to reduce the risk of injury, and to protect the health and safety of those operating on the Defence Estate.

Eye tests are available for spectacles, as well as a provision for corrective lenses to be fitted to eye protection. All eye healthcare for AFU personnel is provided through a contracted service. In financial year 2023-24 the cost of eye tests and eyewear through the MOD Specsavers scheme was £38,277.

Answered by:
Luke Pollard (Labour)
13 September 2024