Earlier this year a number of constituents wrote to me to raise concerns about discrepancies in the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
150,000 members of the Armed Forces community receive military compensation awarded by the Government in response to injury or disablement when serving in HM Armed Forces, but in many cases this compensation is considered as income by benefits means tests.
This means some of the poorest members of the Armed Forces community are denied thousands of pounds a year, while civil compensation, such as personal injury or medical negligence, is exempt from means testing.
In 2011, the UK Government pledged the Armed Forces Covenant, a promise to ensure that members of the Armed Forces community receive the support they need. It states:
“Those who serve in the Armed Forces, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services.”
I have added my voice to this campaign and called for a change in legislation to ensure veterans are not disadvantaged in the long run by being compensated for injury or illness caused by their service, and to uphold the Government's commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant. As such, I have written to Dr Andrew Murrison MP, the Minister for Veterans, to make this case on behalf of veterans and their families living within my constituency.
