Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all evidence from the former Department of Social Security is preserved when deciding upon Armed Forces Compensation Scheme cases.

The Department of Social Security was replaced by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in 2001. Any evidence provided by the DWP, its predecessor organisations or any other third party as part of the decision-making process for Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) claims is retained on the case file and stored at the Ministry of Defence record keeping facility in accordance with standard record management policies. As all AFCS decisions carry the right of appeal, the complete case file would be retrieved to undertake a reconsideration or appeal.