Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the Department is taking to ensure War Pension Scheme claims are processed in a timely manner.

Detailed statistics on the recipients of war pensions, new claims, awards and appeals made under the WPS are published at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/war-pensions-scheme-statistics-2026

In keeping with Accredited Official Statistic Reports methodology, minimum and maximum clearance times are not reported in the WPS Official Statistics, and are therefore not held in a form suitable for publication. The median clearance time for War Pension Scheme (WPS) first claims in the 2025/26 financial year was 361 working days.

As at 12 October 2026, there are currently 13,274 WPS claims on hand. This figure includes first and subsequent claims, supplementary allowances, treatment allowances and widows’ claims.

The following table shows WPS clearances for the previous twelve months, as at 12 October 2026.

The time taken to process WPS claims is influenced by multiple internal and external factors related to claim complexity, evidence requirements, medical review, and operational challenges. Claims vary considerably in complexity; straightforward cases are processed more quickly, while claims for complex or multiple medical conditions require detailed investigation to establish causation, aggravation or impact and can take considerably longer. The availability and quality of supporting evidence such as service records, GP and hospital records, claimant submissions and other documentation also affect processing times, with delays often arising from the time taken to obtain records from multiple civilian sources. As there is no time limit for making a WPS claim, older claims can be particularly challenging due to difficulties in locating historic records and establishing service causation.

All WPS claims are subject to medical review, and Medical Advisors (MAs) play a critical role in reviewing claims once evidence is gathered, assessing causation under legislation.

When circumstances are unusual or not clearly covered by existing guidance, cases can require additional policy consideration, which can further delay decisions. Additionally, claims spanning both the WPS and the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) undergo sequential consideration across expert casework teams, lengthening the overall process.

Operational factors impacting processing include staffing levels, competing workloads, the introduction of new IT systems, system issues, training requirements, and changes to established processes. These have temporarily reduced processing capacity and contributed to backlogs while new ways of working are embedded. The MOD is also currently managing a high volume of WPS claims, which has resulted in longer clearance times.

To address these challenges, a range of measures have been introduced to improve WPS claim processing times. These include flexible resource management, allowing teams to reallocate staff as needed and training personnel in multiple skillsets to enhance efficiency and resilience.

To accelerate the clearance of outstanding claims, overtime and weekend working have been implemented alongside the additional recruitment of administrative and caseworker staff.

Furthermore, a dedicated taskforce has been established to support service delivery improvements. This taskforce focuses on stabilising the system, monitoring operational performance, and identifying areas for improvement.

Throughout the claims process, all cases are managed in strict date order at every stage to ensure fairness, with priority given to those with a terminal illness and to claimants over the age of 90.

Claims from individuals who are either terminally ill or over 90 years old are recorded as a single Priority category and not separately held. The following table shows the number of either terminally ill or over 90 years old Priority applications received in the past 12 months, as at 12 October 2026.