Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average time taken to resolve an appeal is in the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme; and what steps he is taking to reduce that time.

The average (median) clearance time for AFCS appeals is published in Table 9 of the annual Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Statistics.

The latest release was published on 6 July 2023 and can be found at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/armed-forces-compensation-scheme-statistics-financial-year-20222

To better support claimants and reduce timelines that are within Miistry of Defence control, resource is flexed across teams supporting veterans' services to target priority areas wherever possible. Additional resource is also being onboarded along with continuous review and improvement to processes. Overtime is being utilised where required.