Public Policy eNews - 17 December 2008

Welcome to another issue 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. If you know anyone else who would like to receive it, they can subscribe at www.britishlegion.org.uk/esubscribe.

Politics and Policy

Return to Rationing?
The Legion's campaign against poverty amongst older members of the ex-Service community continues. The Government's September 2008 Pre-Budget Report provided some success for the campaign with the announcement that all pensioners will receive a one off payment of £60 in January 2009. The Minimum Income Guaranteed section of Pension Credit has been increased to £130.00 for single people and £198.45 for couples, bringing it closer to the amount required to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The campaign will continue into the new year with the Legion calling for further reform of Council Tax Benefit, Personal Expenses Allowance and Disabled Facilities Grants.

Armed Forces pensioners overpaid
£126 million pounds has been overpaid in pensions for military personnel and over public sector workers. The Government has confirmed that 95,000 people are affected and that the overpayments have been happening since 1978. Around 5% of those receiving payments from the NHS, teacher, military personnel, judges and civil servant pension schemes are caught up in the problem.

The Government does not plan to try to claw back the overpayments as this would not be cost effective. Instead future payments from April 2009 will be adjusted so that the correct amount is paid in future. This means some recipients face having their payments cut or will receive an increase below inflation.

While, The Royal British Legion welcomed the Government’s decision not to reclaim overpaid pensions, we also called on the government to provide financial relief for veterans and widows who will lose out because of overpayments to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme. These veterans and widows will now not benefit from the normal increase to their pensions during a period when inflation is at 5%.

Sue Freeth, Director of Welfare at the Royal British Legion, said: “The overpayment relates to the Guaranteed Minimum Payment under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme. This means that those on the lowest pensions will be most affected by the Government's error.

“This comes at a very difficult time for veterans living on low fixed incomes. Surging inflation and falling property prices mean veterans are living on less and unable to realise the capital in their assets.

“These are issues that have been raised by the Legion since the launch of our Return to Rationing? campaign in September, and the Government now needs to address the ever reducing incomes of older veterans and widows.”

New Minister for Veterans
Following a Cabinet reshuffle, John Hutton MP for Barrow and Furness has replaced Des Browne as Secretary of State for the Ministry of Defence. He was previously Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Kevan Jones, MP for North Durham, has been appointed, replacing Derek Twigg. He was previously a member of the Defence Select Committee and sat on the Armed Forces Bill Select Committee in 2006.

Queen's Speech
Several Bills that may have an effect on serving and ex-Service personnel were announced in the Queens' Speech on 3 November. These include the Health Bill, which will establish an NHS constitution, the Coroners and Justice Bill, which will create the office of Chief Coroner to enforce national standards, and the Borders, Immigrations and Citizenship Bill, which will allow children of those serving overseas in the Armed Forces to be registered as British.

Honour the Covenant

Compensation awards increase this week
This week the increases to lump-sum awards under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme take effect following a Government announcement in September. Claimants will receive improved lump sums ranging from 10% for minor injuries up to a 100% for those who suffer serious long lasting injuries. The maximum payment will increase from £285,000 to £570,000. The first of the back payments will be made before Christmas, and all retrospective payments should be completed by the end of February 2009.

We believe the retrospective awards will benefit around 2,000 injured service people; putting around £7.5m into their pockets. You can get a full breakdown of the increases and the number of people expected to benefit from them in the Legion’s policy analysis of the Honour the Covenant campaign.

Legion and War Widows press for additional support for bereaved families
During the summer the Legion and the War Widows Association held an event for families who have suffered a loss of a loved one in Service since 2005. Those who attended were asked their views on the type of support that they found useful and what the Government could do to improve things.

The results of this event have now been published in Improving Support for Bereaved Armed Forces Families, along with recommendations on what the Government can do to improve the information, advice and support that families receive during bereavement and the inquest process. We will be pressing the Government on these points in the New Year, particularly when the Coroners and Justice Bill is presented to parliament.

Progress for nuclear test veterans
Minister for Veterans Kevan Jones recently announced the MoD's intention to undertake a study into the health of children and grandchildren of nuclear test veterans. Campaigners have called for such a study for many years, pointing to the incidence of miscarriages and congenital conditions and cancers among children of veterans who took part in nuclear testing. The MoD will be taking expert scientific advice on the design and methodology of the study over the coming weeks, with the involvement of the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association (BNTVA), before deciding on the way ahead.

Kevan Jones also announced that the MoD will look at any Pensions Appeal Tribunal decisions that nuclear test veterans felt to be inconsistent. In order to facilitate this, the BNTVA is putting together a database of all nuclear test veterans who have applied for a War Pension, regardless of the outcome. When the list is complete, a questionnaire will be sent out asking for more details. Veterans can send their name and address to the BNTVA using the email address hernie@tiscali.co.uk.

US report on Gulf War Illnesses research
The US Research Advisory Committee has just released their biennial report on the extensive US Gulf War illness research programme. Among the summary of findings the Committee has concluded that:

“Evidence strongly and consistently indicates that two Gulf War neurotoxic exposures are causally associated with Gulf War illnesses 1) use of pyridostigmine bromide (PB) pills, given to protect troops from the effects of nerve agents, and 2) pesticide use during deployment.”

This is the first time that a scientific body has been so specific about what they believe the causes of Gulf War illnesses to be. Legion supporter Lord Morris of Manchester asked the Government to respond to the findings.

In answer Lord Tunnicliffe stated: “The Government are assessing the report following its publication on 17 November and we will review its contents carefully. We note that the US Department of Veterans Affairs has sent the report to the Institute of Medicine for review.”

Welfare needs research in Spain
As some of you will know the Legion is conducting a study of the profile and welfare needs of the UK ex-Service community living in Spain. Over the past few months researchers have carried out focus groups and Legion members have been asked to complete a questionnaire. The researchers, the Centre for Future Studies, have compiled some of the preliminary results and are currently working on the detailed analysis and findings. We hope to be able to provide some of the headline results with the detailed report in spring 2009.

Welfare Reform

Annual uprating of War Pension Scheme
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, Mr Kevin Jones, announced the new rates of War Pensions and allowances. These will take effect from the week beginning 6 April 2009. The changes represent a 5% uprating in awards, taking the weekly War Pension for a disablement of 100% from £145.10 to £152.40. Click here to view the full table of increases.

State Pension Increase
Pensions Minister Rosie Winterton has announced that the Basic State Pension will be increased from £90.70 to £95.25 in April 2009. A one of payment of £60 will be made to all pensioners in January 2009, effectively bringing forward the April increase.

A full list benefit rates for 2009/10, including JSA, ESA, IS and Pension Credit are available here.

VAT reduction for mobility aids
A reduction in VAT from 15% to 5% is available to people over 60 who have mobility aids installed in a private residence. This could potentially save hundreds of pounds on the cost of an adaptation. It is available even when the work is funded by a housing association or a charity. Many companies are thought to be unaware of this so anyone looking to receive the discount may have to provide suppliers and installers with details. More information is available from HM Revenue and Customs and from Seniorsdiscount.

Cold weather helpline
A helpline is available for anyone struggling to pay their heating bills or interested in saving energy. The Home Heat Helpline is funded by the major energy companies and can advise on benefits, grants for free home insulation, reduced energy tariffs and special payment options provided by energy suppliers. The helpline is a free phone number, 0800 33 66 99, or alternatively visit the Home Heat website.

Local Connection rules changes at last
The long awaited change to the homelessness and social housing Armed Forces local connection rule has finally happened. As of 1 December, anyone serving in the Armed Forces is able to establish a local connection with a district through residence of choice or employment there, in the same way as a civilian person. Any applicants encountering a local council unaware of this change should provide the authority with a copy of this letter from the Department of Communities and Local Government.

Improved support for struggling homeowners
In response to the current financial conditions the Government has made some changes to the support available to homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages. The eligibility criteria for Income Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) has been relaxed. As of January 2009 the waiting period for payments will be reduced from 39 weeks from the date of a claim to 13 weeks. Homeowners will also be able to receive help with the first £200,000 of their mortgage, up from the previous figure £100,000. More information on SMI can be found on the Shelter website.

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