Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timeline is for introducing a twice-weekly sitting timetable for the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme Appeal Board.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Government recognises the profound impact that historic criminal and Service law had on LGBT veterans and is fully committed to ensuring that all veterans affected by the ban receive the recognition they deserve. The LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS) received a large volume of applications when it opened, and those applicants who are terminally ill, over 80, or in significant financial distress were prioritised. The first payments were issued as planned within 15 weeks of the Scheme going live to these prioritised groups.
Applications are now being processed in date order, and we are recruiting additional staff, to speed up the process. As of 8 September 2025, the FRS had made payments of £8.9 million to 237 applicants.
Due to the low number of appeals received to date (eight in total), there are currently no plans for the FRS Appeal Board to sit twice weekly. Defence will continue to monitor the number of appeals received and will reassess this approach if required, as was done for the Independent Panel which, due to the volume of applications, now sits twice weekly.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on (a) assessing the adequacy and (b) improving the availability of single occupancy for veterans.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
This Government is committed to ensuring that veterans have access to the support they need, including with regards to their housing.
As the Minister for Veterans and People, I regularly attend the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping which is chaired by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. This group drives progress on Government strategy to get Britain back on track to ending homelessness, ensuring we are working across Government, and in partnership with local authorities and Mayors, to tackle the root causes. I represent the Ministry of Defence at these meetings, ensuring that the needs and experiences of veterans are considered in the development of cross-Government housing and homelessness policy.
In response to the second part of the hon. Member's question, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 June 2025 to Question 57385.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to publish the next report by Alma Economics on the evaluation of the Op FORTITUDE and Reducing Veterans Homelessness programme.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Government has already published an interim report evaluating these programmes which identified notable successes. As of 24 August 2025, the service has taken over 3,900 referrals and supported 980 veterans into housing. It is the Government's intention to also publish the next evaluation report of these programmes in due course.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 57372 on Chagos Islands: Sovereignty, what the costs were to his Department of the Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As set out by the Secretary of State in his statement on 22 May 2025, the Agreement is at a cost of less than 0.2% of the annual defence budget and secures a base which is vital for UK national security for over a century. It represents good value for UK taxpayers.
A bill to implement the Treaty was introduced by the Government to the House of Commons on 15 July 2025.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will facilitate increased sittings of the Independent Panel to assess payments for LGBTQ+ veterans.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
As of 23 June 2025, the FRS had made payments totalling £3.4 million to 69 applicants with life-limiting conditions or serious health concerns. We are now processing applications based on date received. The first payments were issued within 15 weeks of the scheme going live. The Ministry of Defence remains committed to ensuring all eligible veterans receive the recognition they deserve.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2025 to Question 54377 on Veterans: Housing, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of using data from Op Fortitude to undertake a review of the supply and demand of single occupancy housing for veterans.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 June 2025 to Question 57385.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the 2.5% increase to defence spending on 25 February 2025 will fund the Chagos deal.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The costs of the Chagos Archipelago Treaty will be met from within the FCDO and MOD budgets set out at the spending review. The NATO qualifying status of these costs will be considered in the usual way.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information would need to be passed to Mauritius in the event of an armed attack on a third State directly emanating from the military base on Diego Garcia.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It is standard practice for basing arrangements to include an agreement to inform a host nation about military action from their territory. Additionally, the UN Charter has a requirement to notify the UN of military action taken in self-defence. Any notification to Mauritius will take place after the event and will not require the UK to divulge sensitive information. The United Kingdom will inform Mauritius through normal diplomatic channels.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the 2.5% increase in Defence spending is accounted for by payments under the UK-Mauritius treaty on the Chagos Islands.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The costs of the Chagos Archipelago Treaty will be met from within the FCDO and MOD budgets set out at the spending review. The NATO qualifying status of these costs will be considered in the usual way.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2025 to Question 54377 on Veterans: Housing, if he will (a) make an assessment of the adequacy of trends in levels of Op FORTITUDE caseload and (b) review levels of (i) supply and (ii) demand for single occupancy housing for veterans.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
We remain fully committed to ensuring the right support is in place for veterans, including housing support. As of June 2025, Op FORTITUDE has received a cumulative total of over 3,500 referrals and supported over 900 veterans into housing. The Government has committed £500,000 to supporting Op FORTITUDE's operation this financial year.
We have also funded an evaluation of Op FORTITUDE and the Reducing Veteran Homelessness Programme, which has been commissioned by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.
The Government is taking steps to increase affordable housebuilding, and I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 41721 on 3 April 2025.