§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the reply to the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South, Official Report, 23 March, c. 434, in how many of the cases of serious injury attributable to service there was an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the injury; and on how many occasions disciplinary action was subsequently taken.
§ Mr. WigginIt is routine service practice that all accidental deaths and serious injuries are fully and formally investigated. It would be misleading to relate disciplinary action with inquiries into the causes of incidents in which service personnel have been seriously injured. It is common to all three Services that the question of disciplinary action, following any operational or training incident, including those involving serious injury to personnel, is kept separate from inquiries to determine the causes and prevent a recurrence.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Defence, in each of the past five years, how many service personnel were disabled to some extent by injuries attributable to service; if he will categorise the cases according to the degree of resulting disability and according to whether or not a disability pension was awarded on leaving the service; in how many cases there was an inquiry into the circumstances of the injury; and how frequently there was subsequent disciplinary action.
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§ Mr. WigginThe number of Service personnel who were disabled to some extent by injuries attributable to service, categorised according to degree of disability and whether a pension was awarded on invaliding, is not readily available and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.
It would however be misleading to relate inquiries into incidents involving injuries to Service personnel with disciplinary action apparently connected with the same incident. Evidence given to a board of inquiry or regimental inquiry is inadmissable in subsequent disciplinary proceedings, which may not necessarily arise from any direct cause of the incident involving injuries to Service personnel.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give the basis of the calculation of disability pensions awarded to personnel leaving the service because of injuries attributable to their service.
§ Mr. WigginA service man cannot qualify for an invaliding pension by length of service until he has completed at least 5 years' service above age 18. Irrespective of length of service, if the disability is attributable to service and is assessed at 20 per cent. or more a minimum level of pension is guaranteed. Where the value of any invaliding pension for which the Service man is eligible by length of service is exceeded by the guaranteed minimum rates of pension, the latter is paid instead. The guaranteed minimum rates of pension and the rates of invaliding pension based on length of Service are calculated as follows:
Guaranteed minimum rate of pension Officer and other ranks Degree of disability Percentage of the maximum ordinary retirement pension for the rank held* Per cent. Per cent. 100 133⅓ 90 123⅓ 80 113⅓ 70 95 60 85 50 75 40 60 30 50 20 40 * The amount is in all cases abated by the basic war pension (i.e. the rate for a private) awarded by the Department of Health and Social Security. 309W
Service invaliding pension Years of service above age 18 Rate of pension Officers 5 12 per cent. of the maximum ordinary retirement pension for the rank held. 6 18 per cent. of the maximum ordinary retirement pension for the rank held. 7 24 per cent. of the maximum ordinary retirement pension for the rank held. 8 30 per cent. of the maximum ordinary retirement pension for the rank held. 9–33 The 8 year rate increased progressively for each additional year served by the difference between the 8 year and 34 year rates divided by 26. 34 and above 100 per cent. of the maximum ordinary retirement pension for the rank held.
Years of service above age 18 Rate of pension Other ranks 5 27.5 per cent. of the maximum ordinary retirement pension for the rank held. 6–33 The 5 year rate increased progressively for each additional year of service by the difference between the 5 year and 34 year rates divided by 29. 34 100 per cent. of the maximum ordinary retirement pension for the rank held.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the reply to the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South, Official Report, 23 March, c. 434, if he will categorise the service personnel awarded 100 per cent. disability pensions according to their occupations and rank within the service.
§ Mr. WigginThe information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.