Gosport MP backs Royal British Legion bid to solve compensation loophole costing injured veterans
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Tens-of-thousands of former military personnel are being impacted by the problem
Calls for a fairer veteran compensation scheme have been backed by the MP for Gosport.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, Conservative, is supporting the Royal British Legion’s (RBL) bid to make changes to the veterans compensation scheme. Former military personnel and their families are awarded compensation to recognise the pain and loss of amenity brought by problems during their service life.
This can be through injury, illness or death. A total of 144,000 veterans are awarded this by the government, but the Department for Work and Pensions currently classifies this as income in Pension Credit assessments. Other forms of payment, such as Universal Credit, are not deemed as such.
The RBL estimates that 4,120 veterans and widow(er)s in receipt of compensation for injury or bereavement in military service could claim Pension Credit. They are being denied an average of £5,900 in direct or passported support by means test.
National regulations also do not stipulate that councils should exempt military compensation within means tests for certain benefits that councils have discretion for. This includes Council Tax Support, Housing Benefit, Crisis and Resilience Fund payments and Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs).
Dame Caroline said: “We must ensure that compensation awarded to those who served in our Armed Forces for injury or bereavement is never treated as income for benefit means tests, and they receive the support they deserve. Inconsistent criteria for means tests could and should be resolved through national regulations laid by the Government to avoid a postcode lottery for veterans.”