Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans are awaiting compensation for PTSD-related claims; and what steps he is taking to expedite those claims.

The information is not held in the format requested and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

However, it may be helpful to note that War Pension Scheme (WPS) and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) claims are not categorised by condition on receipt. It is not possible to determine if a claim received for a mental health condition will be accepted for compensation under either scheme until medical review of all evidence in the final stage of consideration and decision making.

Defence Statistics Health publish statistics on claims and awards made under the WPS and AFCS. The latest WPS publication presents statistics as at 31 March 2024 and can be found on the gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/war-pension-recipients-index

The latest AFCS publication presents statistics as at 31 March 2024 which was published on the gov.uk website on 18 July 2024:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/armed-forces-compensation-scheme-statistics-index

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) aims to consider all claims under the WPS AFCS as efficiently and as quickly as possible so as not to cause undue delay and stress. Alongside Service evidence, it is often necessary to obtain medical records and case notes from the individual's civilian general practitioner and/or other medical providers. Awaiting the return of those records does take time and, regrettably, this is something MOD officials have no influence over.

The MOD's own working practices are regularly reviewed to positively impact claim processing times for both schemes' claimants. As part of ongoing modernisation, new automated processes are currently being implemented to reduce processing times, as well as a new training programme to enhance caseworker knowledge and skills to further improve confidence and processing of claims.