Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to extend the Duty Holder Concept Regulations to apply to (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department. [196959]

Anna Soubry, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans: Under the policy introduced across Defence, a Duty Holder is an official (military or civilian) who owns, manages and is accountable for risks to life of people in his or her area of responsibility. Senior Duty Holders, who head the Department's Top Level Budget areas and Trading Fund Agencies, are required by the Secretary of State's Policy Statement on Health, Safety and Environmental Protection to refer to him any risks that they consider cannot be reduced as low as reasonably practicable.

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