Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January to Written Question 111659 on Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pensions, whether the data required to establish how many applicants withdrew or did not take steps to progress their claim will be digitised as part of efforts to digitise War Pensions in the Veterans Strategy Action Plan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Veterans Welfare Service is available at all stages to assist a Veteran through the process of making a claim. Data is captured to understand the total number of claims made, clearance times and outcomes. There are many reasons why an applicant may not choose to continue a claim, which is a private matter for them, and is not information the Ministry of Defence needs to capture in order to process claims or monitor performance. Veterans UK is embarked on a £40 million programme to put all pension and compensation services online and digitise what can be very substantial paper files. This will significantly reduce the time taken to respond to veterans' enquiries. The design of the new system has not yet been finalised and I have asked my officials to investigate the practicalities of capturing management information on withdrawals as part of that work.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January to Question 111659 on Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pensions, why the data required to establish how many applicants withdrew or did not take steps to progress their claim has not been (a) digitised or (b) stored centrally.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Veterans Welfare Service is available at all stages to assist a Veteran through the process of making a claim. Data is captured to understand the total number of claims made, clearance times and outcomes. There are many reasons why an applicant may not choose to continue a claim, which is a private matter for them, and is not information the Ministry of Defence needs to capture in order to process claims or monitor performance. Veterans UK is embarked on a £40 million programme to put all pension and compensation services online and digitise what can be very substantial paper files. This will significantly reduce the time taken to respond to veterans' enquiries. The design of the new system has not yet been finalised and I have asked my officials to investigate the practicalities of capturing management information on withdrawals as part of that work.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what independent oversight Veterans UK is subject to.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
I refer the hon.Member to my answer to Question 102708 answered on 19 January 2022.
Defence Busines Services (DBS) is overseen by a Corporate Board with a majority of non-executive members chaired by an independent non-executive director. DBS is subject to regular Performance and Risk Reviews overseen by the MOD's Chief Operating Officer.
Sitting underneath the Corporate Board are a number of delivery boards, including one which monitors the performance of Veterans UK services. Representatives from the Office for Veterans' Affairs are invited to this delivery board and at the most recent Veterans Advisory Board chaired by the Rt Hon Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, work to improve the services provided by Veterans UK was discussed.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether previous mental health assessments undertaken while a veteran was serving in the armed forces are taken into account by Veterans UK medical assessors when veterans are making a claim under the War Pensions or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
A Veterans UK Medical Advisor's role is to provide advice and guidance based upon pre-existing medical evidence which is used to determine the level of disablement in accordance with the relevant compensation scheme rules. As such, all medical evidence in-service and out of service is taken into account.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what mental health qualifications are required from Veterans UK medical assessors tasked with giving assessments on issues relating to veterans' mental health.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Veterans UK Medical Advisers (MA) are not involved in the diagnosis, care or treatment of War Pension or Armed Forces Compensation scheme claimants. A Veterans UK MA's role is to provide advice and guidance based upon pre-existing medical evidence which is used to determine the level of disablement in accordance with the relevant compensation scheme rules.
I also refer the hon. Member to my previous answer to Question 106792 provided on 24 January 2022.
When Medical Advisors are recruited the professional qualifications required are:
Valid licence to practice medicine in UK
Registration with the GMC
Current re-validation certificate
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that, in the process of a veteran making a claim under the War Pension Scheme or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and then appealing that claim, the Veterans UK medical assessor who makes a decision on the initial claim and the Veterans UK medical assessor who makes a decision on the appeal are not the same person.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Veterans UK Medical Advisors do not make decisions on appeals. Appeals are decided by the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Tribunal in England and Wales, or the respective Pensions Appeal Tribunals in Scotland and Northern Ireland. These are judicial bodies independent of the Ministry of Defence. Each tribunal has an independent medical member as part of the decision-making panel.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2022 to Question 102709, on Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pensions, whether caseworkers from the Veterans UK Operational Appeals team are the same individuals as Veterans UK medical assessors.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
I can confirm the caseworkers from the Veterans UK Operational Appeals team are not the same individuals as Veterans UK medical advisors.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 25 January 2022 to Question 108581 on Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pensions, in what format his Department holds the information requested.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The data required to establish how many applicants withdrew or did not take steps to progress their claim is held in the paper file for each case.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average passage of time is between the submission of an application for a payment under War Pensions or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and the receipt of that payment.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The time taken to process applications is spent assessing the eligibility and entitlement of the claimant. The average clearance times and targets for the War Pension Scheme (WPS) and the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) as at 31 December 2021 are detailed in the table below:
Claim Type | Target Clearance Time | Average Clearance Time |
WPS Claims | 127 Days | 141 Days |
AFCS Claims | 90 Days | 90 Days |
The AFCS average clearance time is now achieving the 90-day target and WPS is expected to recover the 127-day target in February 2022. Official statistics on clearance times as at 31 March are published annually on gov.uk.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of applications for payments under the (a) War Pensions and (b) Armed Forces Compensation Scheme have resulted in (i) a financial award, (ii) a full award and (iii) a partial award.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2021:
Of the 107,882 disablement claims cleared under the War Pension Scheme (WPS), 63,665 (59%) resulted in a financial award.
In addition to those who received a financial award, 8,741 first and second/subsequent claims were accepted but received no financial award.
Of the 94,562 injury illness claims registered under the AFCS, 53,785 (57%) resulted in a financial award (tariff level 1-15).
In addition to those who received a financial award, as at 31 March 2021 11,909 claims were accepted but no financial award was made and, 1,703 initial claims were still pending, which had yet to be attributed an outcome.
Awards are normally made on a full and final basis although the scheme rules allow for "fast payments" where part payment can be made and if certain criteria are met. Additionally sometimes it is not possible to determine the level of award because a condition is not stable so interim awards are made.