LGBT Veterans Financial Recognition Scheme

Dear Defence Secretary,

Re: LGBT Veterans Financial Recognition Scheme

The terrible mistreatment of those LGBT personnel who were forced to leave our Armed Forces prior to 2000 for their sexuality was a stain on the history of our nation. The Late Lord Etherton’s report and its 49 recommendations, fully accepted by the Government, go some way to addressing those wrongs.

Your announcement of an uplift to the available money to £75,000,000 is welcome. However, myself, and many of the co-signatories to this letter have still to receive updates in respect of our constituents’ claims, or indeed payment of either their Discharge/Dismissal (DD) payment or their Impact Payment (IP).

These veterans have struggled immensely to progress their claims, and after years of waiting for signs of hope are still waiting for settlement and closure. We cannot allow this process to become damaged in the same way as other compensation schemes have.

We understand that 1,119 applications have been made as of 21st July, and yet some seven months on from the launch of the scheme in December only a mere 96 individuals have received payment. This speed of settlement is simply not acceptable to our constituents. Some of these veterans are in their 70s and 80s, with many of those in poor health, and we are aware of one applicant having died whilst awaiting settlement of their claim. We do not believe that this state of affairs is one which you would wish to be responsible for, damaging the Government's delivery of Lord Etherton’s Legacy.

We would be grateful of oversight of the options you are considering, and if you would consider widening the scheme’s prioritisation criteria to include those applicants who are inmost need of a swift decision suffering from financial crisis - not just when they are in ongoing bankruptcy proceedings in court (which will be a very small number of veterans).

There is a minority group who are suffering from these financial crises, with debt management charities providing assistance and business charities managing business debts. Many of these veterans who are in financial crisis, but are not yet in the court system, are still suffering from severe mental health issues because of the lack of financial support provided by the redress scheme from the outset.

Rather than wait to make a single payment encompassing the DD and IP, which is set to take years under the current structure, by making an immediate payment of £50,000 to all these veterans who qualify, the MOD can alleviate the pressure and anger being felt by this community, and would provide a quick win for the MOD whereby the assessment panel can then take the time it needs to appropriately consider more longer term each application on its own merits.

Initial payments are made as a standard and recognised procedure to medical negligence claim victims where culpability is accepted, and initial payments have been made, for example, to the blood scandal victims and two Horizon victims. However, none of these initial payments have been made to the LGBT veterans, which signifies a substantial departure from the norm.

We feel this is a structured approach to meeting the requirements of veterans, delivering on the commitment of the Late Lord Etherton and the Government, and one which veterans we are working closely alongside will agree with.

On a separate note, following the Westminster Hall debate on the scheme, held on 9th July by the Honourable Member for Chichester, the Veterans Minister Al Carns announced that the FRS panels will hold up to two sittings a week, doubling their capacity to process applications. 

However, in a previous letter from the Veterans Minister dated 18th June, it is clear that the panel was already sitting twice a week - meaning that this latest ‘announcement’ is seemingly no more than an effort by the MOD to make it seem like this issue is being taken as seriously as it should, with very limited transparency for MPs. We would very much appreciate clarity on this matter.

To summarise, we therefore request that your Department:

• Widens the criteria for prioritisation to include all those in financial crisis (not just bankruptcy proceedings).
• Makes immediate DD payments to applicants who the MOD have already written to confirm an administrative discharge, as there is no need to wait for further records.
• Continues to explore opportunities to optimise the application process and kindly provides explanations to MPs for oversight.
• Publishes a regular update of (a) total applications made, and (b) payments made.

Yours sincerely, 

Ben Maguire MP, Dr Al Pinkerton MP and 44 other MPs