Thank you for contacting me about veterans’ welfare.
I am incredibly proud of the courage and dedication of our Armed Forces. In return, I believe that the whole nation has a moral obligation to those who have served - and continue to serve - in the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force, along with their families. They deserve our respect, our support and fair treatment when accessing public services. I am proud of the previous Government’s record, increasing the value of the compensatory grants being offered and the window of time that ex-servicepeople have to claim for injury and illness.
The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) already compensates for injuries, illnesses or deaths which have been caused by service on or after 6th April 2005. Indeed, the AFCS has been making awards for pain since its introduction. Many veterans have benefitted from tax-free lump sum payments the Scheme offers: Over 95,000 conditions have been awarded compensation since the scheme began. Of course, payouts are always dependent on case specific evidence and compensation payments are calculated with reference to a tariff of injuries.
I am both grateful and sympathetic to our brave and committed veterans. If you are aware of cases where veterans have applied for an AFCS grant and have been denied despite experiencing pain caused by service, I would appreciate you bringing these to my attention.
I am deeply concerned by cases in which recipients of the AFCS have limited veterans’ access to UC. The Government initially ignores AFCS and War Pension awards when calculating a veteran’s Universal Credit (UC) entitlement. This is standard practice for personal injury or illness payments. However, after 12-months, what remains of this payment is considered capital (savings) - unless it is put into a trust or used to buy an annuity. At this point, the payment is considered when assessing that veteran’s UC entitlement. The 12-month cut off has resulted in some veterans and their families being forced to live off their compensation payment, without any - or with limited - UC support.
Veterans who have sacrificed so much to protect our country should be treated fairly when engaging with our welfare system. I understand that payments from other compensation schemes are not counted at any stage when assessing an individual’s eligibility for UC. I hope that the Government will consider what it can do to make our welfare system fairer to veterans, especially veterans who have sacrificed their health and mobility to protect us all.
Work Capability Assessments (WCAs) evaluate whether someone has the functional ability to work, could work at some point with the right support, or cannot work and, therefore, need unconditional support from the state. WCAs assess function, rather than diagnoses. This is because function can - in some cases - change over time. However, WCAs can assess someone as having Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA). This categorisation is reserved for people with the most severe and lifelong health conditions or disabilities. These people’s level of functioning means that they will always have LCWRA; they are highly unlikely to be able to work again. People categorised as having LCWRA are not routinely re-assessed. I understand that there are amputees - including veterans - whose level of functionality is already considered to be in the LCWRA category. These people, therefore, are not required to be re-assessed.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
