Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the number of veterans that have (a) died and (b) committed suicide whilst awaiting a final settlement of a claim to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme since 2019.

The information requested cannot be provided without exceeding the disproportionate cost limit.

However, I can confirm that between 1 January 2019 and 31 March 2024, ten veterans whose next of kin decided to proceed with the active claim died before receiving an outcome of either an initial Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) injury/illness claim or an appeal. The figure includes claims which were still open on 31 March 2024.

The Ministry of Defence does not hold information on the cause of death where a claimant dies before receiving an outcome of claim under the AFCS. Therefore, it is not possible to identify veterans that have committed suicide whilst awaiting a claim outcome since 2019.