Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether interim financial assistance is available for veterans awaiting a decision on their war pension applications; and what steps are being taken to support those experiencing financial hardship due to prolonged processing times.

Work is underway to tackle the backlog war pension applications pending action, of which has increased in the last few months. The department continually review and evaluate its processes to look for ways to improve and minimise claim processing times. The caseload is subject to constant review and when necessary, steps are taken to target resources to a particular team or work area to expedite the workflow.

Please refer to the following table for the current number of pending War Pension applications:

The extract numbers held on the specific date of the 11 March each year could not be produced, therefore the data above was taken from 1 March for 2022-2024 and 28 February 2025.