Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of restitution payments made under the LGBT+ Veterans Independent Review.

Defence continues to work at pace with experts from across Government, and with reference to schemes developed by allies such as Canada, to establish an appropriate scheme for the financial award, working within the £50m limit recommended in Lord Etherton’s Review.

Development of the scheme is at an early stage and therefore Defence cannot yet confirm the details, the expected number of claimants, or the likely size of awards. However, the Government is committed to delivering the report’s recommendation, acknowledging that the process is intricate and must be followed correctly.

Defence will continue to engage with LGBT veterans as plans for the financial award progress. Defence are committed to providing updates on the development of the scheme, including eligibility criteria and the application process, which will be published to the ‘LGBT Veterans: support and next steps’ GOV.UK page as soon as possible.

Ministers are committed to maintaining the momentum of the LGBT Veterans Independent Review and so are exploring the possibility of holding a debate in the House as soon as parliamentary time allows, following publication of the Government response last year.