Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many complaints relating to the timeliness of decisions from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme his Department has received in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The total number of formal complaints submitted to the Complaint Resolution Team (CRT) that identified a delay in processing a case or reaching a decision as the root cause of the complaint is detailed in the below table:
Calendar Month | Number of complaints |
November 2022 | 4 |
Dec 2022 | 1 |
January 2023 | 0 |
February 2023 | 2 |
March 2023 | 4 |
April 2023 | 3 |
May 2023 | 7 |
June 2023 | 4 |
July 2023 | 4 |
August 2023 | 5 |
September 2023 | 7 |
October 2023 | 5 |
November 2023 | 4 |
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timeframe is for delivering the recommendations of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Quinquennial Review 2022-23.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) compensates for any injury, illness or death which was caused by service on or after 6 April 2005. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to ensuring that the AFCS delivers for those who make a claim, and there are mechanisms of assessment and accountability in place to ensure this is the case.
The AFCS Quinquennial Review (QQR) takes place every five years to ensure the AFCS remains fit for purpose and to identify opportunities for improvement. The AFCS QQR 2022-23 was carried out by an independent reviewer with administrative support, as needed, provided by MOD staff. The MOD is carefully considering all the recommendations and the official Government response will be published by the end of the year, with a timeframe for delivering those recommendations which are accepted.
The full report can be found at the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quinquennial-review-of-the-armed-forces-compensation-scheme-2023-headline-findings-and-progress-report
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many complaints his Department received in relation to the transparency of decision making in the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This information is not held in the specific detail requested.
The total number of formal complaints submitted to the Complaint Resolution Team (CRT) that identified an AFCS decision as the root cause of the complaint is detailed in the below table:
| Number of complaints |
Financial Year 2022-23 | 8 |
1 April 23 – 31 August 2023 | 0 |
*1 September 23 – 21 November 2023 | 0 |
*Improvements to the complaints process were implemented on 1 September 2023. Any complaint or disagreement related to an AFCS decision is now addressed by this new streamlined appeal process.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what resources were allocated to the delivery of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Quinquennial Review 2022-23.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) compensates for any injury, illness or death which was caused by service on or after 6 April 2005. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to ensuring that the AFCS delivers for those who make a claim, and there are mechanisms of assessment and accountability in place to ensure this is the case.
The AFCS Quinquennial Review (QQR) takes place every five years to ensure the AFCS remains fit for purpose and to identify opportunities for improvement. The AFCS QQR 2022-23 was carried out by an independent reviewer with administrative support, as needed, provided by MOD staff. The MOD is carefully considering all the recommendations and the official Government response will be published by the end of the year, with a timeframe for delivering those recommendations which are accepted.
The full report can be found at the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quinquennial-review-of-the-armed-forces-compensation-scheme-2023-headline-findings-and-progress-report
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) funding provided by his Department to the Veterans Welfare Service and (b) support provided by that service to service leavers.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 21 November 2023 to Question 2225.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training defence transition service caseworkers receive.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
All Defence Transition Service Case Workers and Veterans Welfare Services Welfare Managers receive role specific induction training on joining the organisation. They are also mandated to complete Civil Service Required Learning which includes safeguarding, prevent, diversity/inclusion, and data protection amongst others which must be completed at mandated intervals throughout each year.
Additional role specific training provision is provided through a combination of peer support and training from external organisations for specific skills and awareness on an as required basis.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training veteran welfare service staff receive.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
All Defence Transition Service Case Workers and Veterans Welfare Services Welfare Managers receive role specific induction training on joining the organisation. They are also mandated to complete Civil Service Required Learning which includes safeguarding, prevent, diversity/inclusion, and data protection amongst others which must be completed at mandated intervals throughout each year.
Additional role specific training provision is provided through a combination of peer support and training from external organisations for specific skills and awareness on an as required basis.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Defence Transition Service has sufficient resources to support service leavers.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We are very proud of the support provided by both Defence Transition Services, and by the Veterans Welfare Service to date. To ensure that we continue to provide the best possible support for our Service leavers and veterans, the Ministry of Defence and the Office for Veterans’ Affairs co-sponsored an Independent Review of the welfare services for veterans provided by HM Government. The subsequent report made a number of recommendations, which the Government will be responding to in full in the near future.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of when phase two of the Veteran's Recognition Scheme will be completed.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As of October 2023, there have been over 75,000 cards issued as part of phase 1.
Phase 2 refers to the launch of the service for pre-2018 veterans to verify their status and receive a card. The Government remains committed to delivering the card to every veteran who wants one, and since this summer, has been engaging with thousands of veterans to test the service. We will now begin issuing hundreds of cards per day over the next month and produce thousands of cards for pre-2018 veterans before the end of 2023. Depending on the volume of applications received, we expect production to increase over the course of 2024 towards a maximum output capacity of around 50,000 cards per month.
Once launched, the service will remain live for all veterans who want a card to apply at any time in the future, and cards will continue to be issued automatically to Service leavers. Details of when all veterans will be able to apply for a card will be issued in due course.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many charities were consulted as part of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Quinquennial Review 2022-23.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 16 November 2023 to Question 1753.