Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where his Department has found delays in the processing of injured veteran's claims in the War Pension and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme claim process.

Each claim is different. Many are complex. It is inevitable that processing these can take a considerable time, for example while evidence is gathered from third party organisations and individuals.

In the case of the War Pension Scheme, there are no time limits for claiming, and claims for injuries dating back to World War Two are still being received. Assessing these claims involves locating 70 year old paper records, both Service and medical, and often requires a person to be medically examined so that a decision can be made based on up-to-date evidence. We attach much importance to dealing with all such claims as quickly as possible. Improvements have already been implemented and work is ongoing to further speed up the claims processing times.