§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the differentials between levels of compensatory payments made to officers and other ranks for deaths and serious injuries suffered in the Falklands War; and what steps have been taken since to reduce these differentials.
§ Mr. SoamesThe armed forces pension scheme administered by my Department provides occupational pension benefits for the eligible dependants of those killed in war, and to personnel who are invalided from service as a result of injuries sustained in war.
The invaliding and dependants' pension benefits for personnel injured or killed due to service are paid at enhanced levels to provide a guaranteed minimum level of income. The rates of pension are based on representative rates of pay for each rank, since AFPS benefits, like many other occupational pension schemes, are salary-related. The level of award for those attributably invalided also takes into account the degree of disability. There will therefore be differences in the level of awards for all ranks, whether they are officers or other ranks.
Invalidity and death benefits for service personnel are being considered in a general review of the AFPS being undertaken at present as part of the independent review of armed forces' manpower, career and remuneration structures by Mr. Michael Bett.
War disability pensions, which are administered by the Department of Social Security, are not rank related; they are based solely on the degree of disablement.