Social Services: Veterans
(asked on 3rd March 2015) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to reform the social care system so that veterans injured before 6 April 2005 do not have the cost of their care taken from their military compensation.
We are in the process of introducing fundamental reforms to how we pay for social care that will make the system fairer for everyone, including veterans. At the moment, someone who has the highest care needs can risk losing all they have to meet the cost of their care. These reforms will mean that, for the first time ever, everyone will be protected from the risk of catastrophic care costs. The proposals are currently out for consultation and can be found at:
The War Pensions Scheme, which provides no fault compensation for injury caused by Service before April 2005, includes certain allowances that were designed to pay for ongoing care costs and that is why it is has been taken into account under the social care charging rules. The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, which provides no fault compensation for injury caused by Service after April 2005, operates differently. Officials in the Department are working with the Royal British Legion to review this issue and assess how the rules could be aligned in future to ensure fair treatment of veterans under both of these schemes.