Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what process his Department uses to reconsider an application to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme after it has been rejected.

The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) reconsideration process is treated under Article 53 of the AFCS legislation.

If a claimant disagrees with the decision made on their AFCS claim they have 12 months to request a reconsideration from the date they are notified of the decision. The claimant may produce further evidence to support their reconsideration. The claim and additional evidence will then be considered by a different caseworker and the outcome will be notified to the claimant. If they remain unsatisfied with the outcome of the reconsideration, the claimant has a further 12-month period to ask for an appeal. Appeals are heard by an independent tribunal, which deals solely with Armed Forces compensation cases and consists of a legally qualified Chair, a medical member and an ex-Service member. In England and Wales, appeals are heard by the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, and in the respective Pensions Appeals Tribunals in Scotland and Northern Ireland.