Support for Disabled Veterans

Debate between Susan Murray and Liz Jarvis

Tuesday 28th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Jarvis]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. I agree with him.

The Royal British Legion has noted the structural failure to automatically transfer a service leaver’s medical records to the NHS. Service leavers must request their full clinical records from Defence Medical Services, which is under the Ministry of Defence. That can take several months. Delays in accessing those records often result in difficulties obtaining civilian healthcare services or financial housing support. I understand that the Government have committed to digitising service medical records through Programme Cortisone, but can the Minister provide a timetable for completion? The delivery of that programme is essential to ensure timely access to services and continuity of care. Meeting the needs of the armed forces community, including those with disabilities, clearly relies on our knowing who and where they are, and how they access services and support.

[Susan Murray (Mid Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

I want to highlight a technicality that affects veterans who served before 1987. Prior to the Crown Proceedings (Armed Forces) Act 1987, veterans were unable to bring compensation claims against the Ministry of Defence. The 1987 Act changed that, but cannot be applied retrospectively, so pre-1987 veterans remain excluded. Does my hon. Friend agree that that needs to be looked at to ensure consistent compensation support for disabled veterans across the United Kingdom?

[Liz Jarvis]

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. I am sure that the Minister will address that.

Veterans who use Government services often report having to set out their veteran status or repeat details of their time in service to multiple agencies. The Government must establish improved collection and sharing of data to help deliver tailored support. Disabled veterans frequently struggle with the PIP process, as the complex forms and assessments can be difficult to navigate, and the situation is made worse by the need to repeat traumatic information.

When health and benefit systems fail, financial hardship is the result. According to the Trussell Trust, veterans are twice as likely to run out of food as people who have never served in the armed forces, and a third of veterans with a physical disability or mental condition regularly go without the essentials. I hope that the Government will tackle that in the Budget next month, and will ensure that veterans never have to struggle to cover the essentials. We know that financial insecurity and poor living conditions can make health conditions worse, so there needs to be greater urgency in ensuring that the benefit system supports the nation’s heroes with the cost of living.