§ Mr. Alfred MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 19 June,Official Report, column 704, on payment of war pensions in cases of post-traumatic stress, what is the reason for the different treatment of payment of arrears of war pension in relation to schizophrenia as compared with other conditions.
§ Miss WiddecombeUntil relatively recently, most cases of schizophrenia were regarded as being causally unrelated to service. When medical opinion changed it became possible to make awards of war pension. The discretionary powers of the war pension scheme were used to award arrears of pension, in appropriate cases, from February 1980, the date chosen to reflect the change in medical opinion. This date is under review following a recent High Court judgment.
Authoritative medical opinion has always accepted that the clinical entity now known as post-traumatic stress disorder could arise as the result of service. An award of war pension would therefore normally have been made from the date of claim.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 19 June,Offical Report, column 703, on statistics relating to war pensions, what estimate was made of the cost of answering the question tabled.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe cost was estimated as being as least £1 million.