Social Care and Military Compensation — House of Commons, 2015-03-25
Topic: Mixed Topics
Gordon Marsden (Labour, Centre-left): I agree with the hon. Gentleman, who is assiduous in covering veterans’ issues in this House. I pay tribute to the military from Northern Ireland for the sacrifices they have suffered over the years. He is absolutely right. We are pleased that the Minister is here tonight, but the issue can only be solved out of Government silos The covenant enshrines the principles of no disadvantage and special treatment. These, in turn, dictate that a person should experience no disadvantage as a result of military service and that it is appropriate in some cases for special treatment to be applied to those who are serving or have served. We have already seen that as a result of failing to disregard the war pension, Ministers are not providing any special treatment for veterans. More fundamentally, however, they end up failing the rule of no disadvantage, too, as the injuries incurred purely as a result of action in the armed forces receive little compensation when income such as the war pension is diverted into providing standard civilian social care I am pleased, therefore, that my colleagues in the Labour Front Bench team have pledged, under a future Labour Government, to review the compensation schemes to see where they might be improved. In particular, the focus should be to take a laser-like focus to existing and new rules that affect veterans through the prism of the armed forces covenant. We want to ensure that the principles of no disadvantage and special treatment are met by all arms of government All Members have, at one time or another, drawn attention to the strong feelings of many veterans and others about insufficient engagement with the concerns raised in relation to social care and military compensation. I welcome the reports from the Government, the Royal British Legion and Poppyscotland that talks are ongoing about how the two schemes might be aligned, but we need to see results. After all, every year, as more elderly veterans pass away, the group of people who could benefit from a change in the rules diminishes by 5%. Half that group are aged 70 or over. We are running out of time to offer these people the chance to navigate social care in far greater comfort, with access to the full deserts of their military compensation. With a change in the rules, we can put this right, but it needs real Government commitment. I have to say, however, that when we look at the Government’s stated objections so far, they seem to give the impression of delaying progress rather than accelerating it Ministers have claimed that some of those on the old war pension scheme also receive top-ups to their pension, which are designed to help to pay for care costs. Only 6% of war pensioners actually receive such care top-ups. More to the point, it is surely not beyond the wit of the Government to devise guidelines that will include those care top-ups in the payment for social care, but not include that part of their income that relates to the pain suffered through injuries received in the field of conflict. This is a position that the Royal British Legion accepts would be perfectly reasonable Ministers have also suggested that military compensation could be placed in a trust fund to protect it from social care means-testing. However, given how war pension works, only a small amount is provided as a lump sum. For the most severely injured veterans, most compensation is provided through regular payments that cannot be placed in a trust. It has also been suggested that the war pensions scheme was established before the modern understanding of personal injury compensation, yet it is clearly understood that way, as is evident, as much as anywhere, from the words of the veterans Minister, who said: "The War Pensions Scheme provides no fault compensation to Service personnel disabled as a result of their service in HM Forces." In the discussion of all these disregards, different schemes and allowances, the human effects of these rules and their perceived injustices can too often be forgotten. In my area, the Royal British Legion estimates that 600 veterans in the pre-2005 group could see their war pension eaten up by care costs, and Members across the country will have service constituents who have told emotive tales of the effects of losing their compensation Keith Clarke, who is 43 years old, was left paraplegic while attempting to put out a fire on his submarine. He receives a large war pension for the most severe injuries, but £100 is lost every week to meet the cost of his care worker, who visits daily to help him dress and look after his two children, one of whom is also disabled. His only other benefit comes from statutory benefits. He told The Daily Telegraph: "I feel angry and frustrated. It’s…an injustice to be treated as a second-class citizen." Fred Cannon, who fought on the Gold beach at Normandy on D-day when he was 19 years old, was the only survivor of the company to come home, but a severe bullet wound left him with one leg shorter than the other. Now in his 90s, like too many others, he is left with only £10 a week compensation. Then there is the 50-year-old Lancashire veteran who was diagnosed with osteoporosis from his time in the Army. He said: "Unless the system changes, I’m concerned that I will lose a lot of my pension, which isn’t fair. People who receive AFCS don’t pay for their social care—and rightly so—but why should we pay just because we were injured before April 2005? It doesn’t make sense." Of the two principles of the armed forces covenant, it is ultimately not special treatment that veterans want; all they want is not to be put at a disadvantage: to have the injuries they suffered in the armed forces compensated for in their own right and then to make a contribution from their other income towards social care, just as any civilian would rightly do. They want fair treatment for all and a system that does not discriminate on the basis of an arbitrary date; they want to be treated the same in the different means tests that central and local government operate; and they want to be treated in the same way as civilians who receive compensation for personal injury Whatever the historical context of the creation of the war pension scheme or the complexities of its operation today, it is surely possible to design a system that will meet the requirements of the proper 21st century fairness that the veterans are asking for. The time has come to go beyond discussions and look for concrete solutions to the disparity between the two different military compensation schemes, rather than focusing on the obstacles to a more just system. I am pleased to note that Labour would review the fairness of military compensation in the light of the armed forces covenant, and I call on Ministers to show a similar political will and commitment Many Members will have the date of 7 May on their minds tonight, but many other people will have a possibly more important date—the next day—on their minds. That will be the 70th anniversary of VE-day. I feel honoured that both my late parents served in that conflict, and I am mindful of the debt we owe to those of that generation who remain with us. At this time, we must surely refocus our energies to ensure that we provide all the support that the brave men and women who have served in conflicts spanning the last 70 years deserve, particularly as they make their way through challenging periods of their lives in the social care system.