Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2025 to question 94541 on Ministry of Defence: Asbestos, what the cost was of the 119 awards for mesothelioma.

To provide the cost of the 119 War Pension Scheme awards for mesothelioma or any asbestos-related condition made 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 would require a manual review of each case to determine the exact money paid and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

As reported in the War Pensions Scheme Accredited Official Statistic, 96 lump sum awards for mesothelioma were paid out in the 2024-25 financial year at a cost of £13.2 million.

The latest WPS Annual Statistics can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/war-pensions-scheme-statistics-2025

As there is a delay between a mesothelioma claim being awarded and being paid, those paid out in 2024-25 could have been awarded in either 2023-24 or 2024-25.

Since 16 December 2015, veterans diagnosed with service-attributable mesothelioma have had the choice between a one-off, tax-free lump sum of £140,000 or regular, smaller payments in the form of an ongoing disablement pension. Disablement pensioners already in receipt of an ongoing pension on 16 December 2015 were entitled to receive a lump sum payment of £140,000 less any monies already received. Lump sum payments have been made since 11 April 2016. Further details on the policy change can be found on GOV.UK website.