Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that veterans with recognised service-related conditions are able to access specialist-prescribed private treatments under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) may cover medical expenses for seriously injured veterans living abroad after discharge, provided the treatment aligns with UK best clinical practice at the time of decision. This is a specific exception and the AFCS does not generally fund private medical care.
For UK-based Serving personnel and veterans whose injuries or illnesses are service-related, the NHS is the official and recommended healthcare provider, delivering specialised, high-quality care tailored to their needs.
In its 7th Report, the Independent Medical Expert Group reaffirmed support for this model, advocating continued reliance on the NHS rather than establishing a separate, parallel system and we continue to work closely with our partners in the NHS.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme provides reimbursement for clinically prescribed private (a) healthcare and (b) medication in cases where NHS treatment pathways are (i) unavailable and (ii) ineffective.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) may cover medical expenses for seriously injured veterans living abroad after discharge, provided the treatment aligns with UK best clinical practice at the time of decision. This is a specific exception and the AFCS does not generally fund private medical care.
For UK-based Serving personnel and veterans whose injuries or illnesses are service-related, the NHS is the official and recommended healthcare provider, delivering specialised, high-quality care tailored to their needs.
In its 7th Report, the Independent Medical Expert Group reaffirmed support for this model, advocating continued reliance on the NHS rather than establishing a separate, parallel system and we continue to work closely with our partners in the NHS.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health on the potential merits of providing full spectrum medical cannabis to veterans with specific PTSD symptoms under the medical exemption certificate.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Government is committed to ensuring all veterans have access to the support they need, including health support. I have not had any discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care about medical cannabis.
If veterans are in need of support with their mental health, I encourage them to reach out to their GP or, for those in England, Op COURAGE: the Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service, which provides a broad range of specialist mental health and wellbeing care and support for service leavers, reservists, veterans and their families.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also have their own specialist support pathways, through Veterans First Point Scotland, Veterans NHS Wales, and Veterans Welfare Services Northern Ireland, and each nations’ government is responsible for commissioning of treatment options.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps her Department has taken to tackle the shortfall in armed forces recruitment over the last five years; and whether these measures have been tailored to each branch of the military.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The new Government inherited a crisis in recruitment and has made it a priority to address this with a series of work streams designed to improve Armed Forces recruitment, modernising and refining our policies and processes to attract the best possible talent. Our actions are designed to deliver the widest positive impact across our Armed Forces, but we also pursue activities aimed at the specific requirements of the single Services to maximise effect.
To provide the widest benefit across the Armed Forces, we have delivered a 35 per cent pay increase for new recruits; one of the largest pay increases in the last 20 years for existing personnel; scrapped over 100 outdated medical policies; introduced a new military direct-entry cyber pathway which is now recruiting; and set an ambition to make a conditional offer of employment to candidates within 10 days, and a provisional training start date within 30 days.
Furthermore, we have announced the award of the contract for the new tri-service Armed Forces Recruiting Service (AFRS) which will join the recruitment activity of the Services together. AFRS will provide a streamlined, single-entry point for prospective recruits, recruiting from the broadest spectrum of society to attract the best talent from across the country.