Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reason war pensions and payments made under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme are treated differently when assessing the contributions the claimant must make towards their social care; and if he will make a statement.

We are in the process of introducing fundamental reforms to how we pay for care and support that will make the system fairer for everyone, including veterans. At the moment, someone who has the highest care needs may risk losing all they have to meet the cost of their care. These reforms will mean that, for the first time ever, everyone will be protected from the risk of catastrophic care costs. The proposals are currently out for consultation and can be found at:

www.careact2016.dh.gov.uk

Personal injury compensation paid to veterans and civilians has always been fully disregarded provided the money is placed in a Trust. The War Pensions Scheme, which is available to those injured prior to April 2005, provides a range of allowances some of which were designed to pay for ongoing care costs and that is why these payments have been taken into account under the care and support charging rules. The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, introduced for those injured from April 2005, operates differently. Officials in the Department of Health are working with the Royal British Legion to review this issue and assess how the rules could be aligned in future to ensure fair treatment of veterans under both of these schemes.