§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the review by the Ministry of Defence of Armed Forces compensation arrangements, whether the standard of proof required to gain compensation for a medical condition caused or aggravated by military service is to change from reasonable doubt to balance of probabilities; and [HL2216]
What percentage of currently successful claims for compensation for a medical condition caused or aggravated by military service would fail if the standard of proof required were changed from reasonable doubt to balance of probabilities; and [HL2217]
What representations they have received from the ex-service community expressing concern about the proposal to change the standard of proof for compensation for a medical condition caused or aggravated by military service from reasonable doubt to balance of probabilities; and [HL2218]
What arrangements are in place to ensure that claims for compensation for medical conditions caused or aggravated by military service which are accepted by the Veterans Agency for war pensions are also accepted by the Ministry of Defence; and whether such agreement between the two bodies is desirable; and [HL2220]
Whether the disability awards given to ex-servicemen and women are commensurate with the levels of service given by those people in the course of their service careers. [HL2221]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)The Ministry of Defence currently provides compensation for death and disablement caused or aggravated by service under two schemes, the War Pension Scheme (WPS) and the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS). Each scheme operates under separate legislation and the standard of proof applied to claims under the two schemes is different.
The War Pension Scheme was introduced in 1917 and its generous standard of proof reflects in particular the limits of medical understanding of the 41WA time. Claims may be made at any time after service release. Specifically, where a claim is made for a war pension within seven years of termination of service, the onus is wholly on the Secretary of State to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the disablement was not due to service. Where a claim is made more than seven years after termination, the onus rests on the claimant to raise a reasonable doubt by reliable evidence that the disablement is in fact due to service, the claimant receiving the benefit of any reasonable doubt.
The attributable benefits elements of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme introduced attributable pensions in 1973. This applies to disablements leading to medical discharge; it considers claims against the balance of probabilities standard of proof in line with most other such schemes and the practice of civil courts. It places the onus of proof on the individual. We recognise that the use of different standards of proof for determining attributability under the two schemes is not well understood by claimants but it has not been considered appropriate so far to change these arrangements. This is an issue that has been considered within the current review of Armed Forces compensation arrangements. In March 2001, we published proposals for a new scheme based entirely on the balance of probabilities standard of proof. A number of respondents have expressed their concern that this would not be appropriate to the special status of the Armed Forces and the demands placed on them. This view has been particularly strongly represented by ex-service organisations. We have been in close consultation with these and other interested groups and will continue to work with the ex-service community in finalising the details of the new scheme. We expect to make a final decision on the broad design of a new scheme shortly.
We do not hold information on how many WPS awards would be unsuccessful under the balance of probabilities standard of proof and this could be provided only at disproportionate effort and cost.
Benefits awarded to medically discharged service personnel depend on whether the disablement is found attributable to service. The AFPS provides normal occupational pension scheme ill-health pensions (known as service invaliding pensions). Levels of these are based on rank and the length of service. Where a disablement is found attributable to service, both the WPS and AFPS provide attributable benefits related to rank and the medically assessed degree of disablement; in the case of the AFPS this usually results in enhanced pension benefits. These arrangements are also being considered in the light of wider good practice as part of our reviews of Armed Forces pension and compensation arrangements.