North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has this afternoon called for a Welsh Government Statement on the means testing of military compensation received by the Armed Forces Community, which results in Veterans and their families missing out on thousands of pounds a year.
Speaking in this afternoon’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament during the Business Statement, Mr Isherwood referred to the ‘Credit their Service’ Campaign launched by the Royal British Legion last week, which is calling for an end to the treatment of military compensation as income across welfare benefit means tests, and emphasised the need for action by the Welsh Government and Welsh Local Authorities to ensure that this happens.
He said:
“I call for a single Welsh Government Statement on the means testing of military compensation received by the Armed Forces Community. Last week, the Royal British Legion launched its ‘Credit their Service’ Campaign, aiming to address the treatment of military compensation as income across welfare means tests.
“A hundred and fifty thousand members of the Armed Forces Community receive military compensation awarded to support the ongoing costs of an illness or injury acquired in Service. Means testing results in some of the poorest members of the Armed Forces Community being denied thousands of pounds of support, while civil compensation, such as for personal injury or medical negligence, is exempt from this.
“In 2011, the UK Government pledged the Armed Forces Covenant - obviously, the Welsh Government also did this - and they promised to ensure that members of the Armed Forces Community should ‘face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services’.
“Royal British Legion is therefore urging Welsh Local Authorities to use existing discretionary powers to ensure that military compensation is never treated as income in means tests for locally administered benefits. I believe some Authorities are doing that, but many are not, and they’re also calling for the Welsh Government to work with the UK Government to amend benefit regulations to ensure that no member of the Armed Forces Community in Wales has their compensation treated as income by any means-tested benefits.
“I call for a Statement accordingly in the context of the calls on the Welsh Government and Local Authorities here.”
The Minister replied:
“The Deputy Minister for Social Partnership is very aware of the Royal British Legion Credit their Service campaign, and I know her officials have met with the charity, and are continuing to work closely with the armed forces expert group, the armed forces liaison officers, and all our partners across Wales to uphold the principle of the Armed Forces Covenant. This is a UK-wide issue, but there are obvious implications for areas where Welsh Government leads, and the campaign really cuts across several policy areas, and we will need to assess the issues raised.”