New survey shows four-in-five Veterans have poor experiences claiming compensation

The anonymous survey – which gathered 1,040 responses - was launched cross-party by local Lib Dem MP Richard Foord, along with Stephanie Peacock MP (Labour), James Sunderland MP (Conservative), Owen Thompson MP (SNP), and ran from November 1st 2022 to February 1st 2023.

It investigated the experiences UK veterans and personnel have with claiming compensation for an illness or injury (caused by service) through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and/or War Pensions.

Both of these schemes are run by ‘Veterans UK’ which sits under the Ministry of Defence and is in the unique position of both assessing and awarding claims - with no independent verification.

The survey found that 83.4% of veterans would rate the support they experienced from Veterans UK as poor, or very poor, whilst 84.5% would rate the consideration given to their mental and physical health during the process as poor, or very poor – compared to 5.9% and 5.7% who would rate these as good, or very good, respectively.

Common complaints included the sheer length of the process; the way Veterans UK ignored or mishandled medical advice and evidence; and the adversarial and unsympathetic nature of Veterans UK staff when handling claims.

More than one veteran said the process drove them to consider, or attempt suicide, with another saying they felt the process was ‘set up to cause deliberate harm to veterans’.

The cross-party group of MPs are now calling on the Ministry of Defence to review the results of the survey, and launch an independent inquiry into the compensation claiming process.

Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton & Honiton Richard Foord, who is Vice Chair of the Armed Forces Covenant APPG, said:

“For years, veterans have been finding that the system for claiming compensation is simply not fit for purpose. It’s characterised by excruciatingly long waiting times, high levels of rejection, and many report poor handling of evidence by staff.

“Now that these claims have been reinforced and proven to be the case for a wide range of former Armed Forces personnel, Ministers must act quickly to make improvements to the service.

“This is not about political point scoring. This is about making sure that every veteran, who has served our country with distinction, gets a fair and impartial chance at claiming what they are entitled to. It is the least we owe them for their sacrifice.”