Public Policy eNews - 15 April 2008

Welcome to the second edition of the Legion’s policy eNewsletter. We hope you find this a useful source of updates on government policy, Legion campaigning and welfare benefit developments.

The Legion at Work

Sportsmen and women wanted for the Paralympics   

The Legion is working with a number of organisations including all three Services and BLESMA as part of the Battle Back group. The aim is to encourage disabled Service and ex-Service people to get involved in Paralympic sports and ultimately, to represent Great Britain at the 2012 Paralympics in London. Every few months a ‘Taster Day’ is held, to allow interested sportsmen and women to try out the various Paralympic sports. No previous experience of any the sports is required. Details of the different sports and eligibility rules can be found on the British Paralympics Association (BPA) website. Anyone interested in attending a Taster Day can contact dmartin@britishlegion.org.uk for details.

Reshaping Pensions Appeal Tribunals
The Ministry of Justice has recently consulted on proposed changes to the tribunal service in England and Wales. The proposals include an intention to introduce a system of First-tier and Upper Tribunal (for appeals), the Pensions Appeal Tribunals to be subsumed into the newly formed Social Entitlement & Compensation Chamber, and a reduction in the number of tribunal members. The Legion has some concerns with the proposals, including the fact that different systems will operate in Scotland and Northern Ireland and the loss of both medical and Armed Forces expertise held by tribunal members. We now await the results of the consultation and final decisions from the Ministry of Justice. The Legion's full consultation response can be found here.

Nuclear Test Veterans
The Legion has recently held discussions with the British Nuclear Tests Veterans Association regarding their parliamentary campaign. Veterans exposed to radiation during nuclear testing are asking for compensation and further research into the effects of their exposure - to themselves, their children and grandchildren. The Legion has agreed to support them in their campaign and we look forward to working closely with this deserving group of veterans.

Accolade awarded to Legion legal adviser
A founder member, and the present secretary, of The Royal British Legion Solicitors' Group, Hilary Meredith, has received a top accolade for her work in representing members of the Armed Forces who have been injured or killed through negligence. Hilary has 20 years of claims against the Ministry of Defence under her belt, assisting Servicemen and women injured or killed in Northern Ireland, the first Gulf War, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. She has been made a senior fellow of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.

Policy Update

Medical Care Enquiry
The Defence Select Committee has published the findings of its inquiry into Medical Care for the Armed Forces. The Committee looked at several key areas including the treatment of personnel seriously injured on operations, the transition between the MoD and the NHS for personnel leaving Service and the mental health of veterans and serving personnel. The recommendations echo many of those raised in the Legion's Honour the Covenant campaign, such as the need to ensure priority treatment for veterans is being communicated and delivered effectively, and the importance of addressing on-going problems in the transfer of medical records from the MoD to the NHS. Also highlighted is the need for a more effective way to identify and track veterans in the NHS, in particular to ensure that ex-Service personnel experiencing mental health problems can be identified and provided with the care they need.

New study from the US on Gulf War illness
A new review of medical studies study carried out by Dr Beatrice Colomb at the University of California, has provided further evidence of the link between exposures to organophosphates, NAPs tablets, pesticides and nerve agents. The review of more than 70 studies has found that illness in Gulf War veterans can be explained in part by exposure to this group of chemicals and acetyl cholinesterase inhibitors. A Los Angeles Times article quotes Dr Colomb as saying "The review thoroughly, conclusively shows that this class of chemicals actually are a cause of illness in Gulf War veterans".

MoD planning new home ownership scheme
Following on the from the extension of the Homebuy scheme, details of which were included in the last newsletter, Des Browne has now announced that the MoD are developing another new scheme to help Service personnel buy a home. Scant details have been released so far but the MoD says it will be working with commercial providers and public bodies to develop a scheme based on either shared equity or rent-to-buy arrangements. The MoD has pledged £20 million to the initiative. The launch is planned for 2009-10 and will run for up to four years. Any further details will be included in future newsletters.

New immigration guidance for Foreign & Commonwealth veterans
The UK Border Agency has produced new immigration guidance for its caseworkers who process applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) from F&C nationals medically discharged from the UK Armed Forces before completing four years service. The usual four years Service requirement will now be waived if the injury was sustained on operations. They are also willing to review any previously refused cases that might be affected by this change. If the injury occurred in Service but outside of operational theatre then the situation is not so clear cut and the granting of ILR remains dependant on factors such as time served and the seriousness of the injury.

Government announces plans for Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG)
The final plans for reform of the DFG programme have been announced. These include:
- a £45 million increase in funding, or 31%, over 3 years;
- an increase in the maximum mandatory grant from £25,000 to £30,000; and
- automatic passporting through the means-test for claimants of Housing & Council Tax Benefit and Tax Credits.
There is no mention of an earlier proposal for similar treatment of recipients of War Pensions. The Legion is looking into this and will report any news in later newsletters.

Welfare Benefits

Nationwide free bus travel for the over 60s and disabled people
Those over 60 and disabled people should now be able to travel for free on any off-peak local bus across England. Enquiries regarding the scheme should be made to the relevant local authority.

Armed Forces Benefits & Pension Calculator
The MoD has launched an internet-based Armed Forces Benefits Calculator (ABC). This will allow Service personnel to assess the total value of their full employment package. The Calculator will also be made available to potential recruits keen to investigate the type of reward package that might be available should they choose to join the Armed Forces.

Local Housing Allowance in the house
The new system of paying Housing Benefit, the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) was launched nationwide on 7 April 2008. Any new claim from a private rented sector tenant will now be paid under these rules. Rent will now in most cases be paid to the claimant rather than the landlord. The amount of benefit paid will now be calculated according to a published rate dependant on the size of property required. The Rent Service has created a website, LHA Direct, that will enable potential claimants to calculate the possible amount of benefit available to them.

Tax Credit rates for 2008/09
HM Revenue and Customs have published the new rates and allowances for Tax Credits and Child Benefit.

Disability benefits can be claimed when living abroad
Following a court ruling, some UK sickness benefits can now be paid to claimants who leave the UK and take up residence in another European Economic Area country or Switzerland. More details are available here. 

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