Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2024 to Question 15405 on LGBT Veterans Independent Review, whether his Department plans to create a single application form for LGBT veterans who are applying for financial compensation.

Defence continues to work at pace to establish an appropriate scheme for the financial award and aims to follow a similar application process as the non-financial award recommendations. Development of the scheme and the application process is underway.

The Government worked with LGBT Veterans and charities at pace to implement an accessible process for LGBT veterans to apply for restorative measures. While there are no current plans to change the application process, Defence will continue to review it to ensure it is appropriate and accessible. We are committed to ensuring that all restorative measures are easily accessible for our valued LGBT veterans.

In the meantime, Defence will continue to engage with stakeholders and is committed to providing updates on the development of the scheme; eligibility criteria; and information on the application process on the ‘LGBT Veterans: support and next steps’ GOV.UK page as soon as possible.

For those with further accessibility requirements, Defence provides a Veterans Welfare Service (VWS), which includes assistance in completion of application forms. Further information on this service can be found on their GOV.UK page (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/veterans-welfare-service).