Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that LGBT veterans are adequately informed about their rights and how to apply for compensation under the Financial Recognition Scheme.

As of 1 September 2025, the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS) had made payments of £8.3 million to 221 applicants. We have been prioritising payment to applicants who are terminally ill, over 80 and those in significant financial distress to ensure they receive support as quickly as possible, with the first payments issued as planned within 15 weeks of the Scheme going live to these prioritised groups. Applications are now being processed in date order, and we are in the process of recruiting additional staff, to speed up the process.

Defence’s LGBT Restorative Action Team is working closely with external and internal Defence communications teams to deliver campaigns to drive awareness of, and encourage, eligible LGBT Veterans to claim under the FRS. To further support this effort, Defence has allocated £90,000 worth of grants to charities, including Fighting With Pride, to support Veterans with their FRS applications.

The LGBT Restorative Action Team also continues to engage with relevant Veterans networks, and customer facing teams, to ensure that eligible applicants of FRS receive the appropriate information, support, and guidance. The Government encourages those affected by the Ban to visit gov.uk for further information, guidance, and support on how to make an application: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/veterans-of-the-lgbt-ban-financial-recognition-scheme

Payments made by the FRS are not compensation payments and do not seek to compensate for any pecuniary losses or attempt to place personnel in a financial position they could have been in, had the ban not existed.