Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment criteria his Department used for applications to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

Under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme the individual must show, on the balance of probabilities, that the claimed injury or illness was caused wholly or partly by service on or after 6th April 2005 and if partly, predominantly by service. Decisions are made in accordance with the legislation which governs the scheme namely the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces Compensation Scheme Order 2011 available at:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/517/contents

Once it has been established that the individual’s injury or illness has met the eligibility criteria, the extent of the injury is assessed against the tariff descriptors included within the AFCS scheme rules.

When an application does not meet the criteria, it is rejected. As each case is considered on its individual merits, the specific reasons for rejection are not recorded centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.