The Defence Secretary cannot let a payment scheme for LGBT veterans “become damaged”, 45 MPs have said, amid fears some claimants have “struggled immensely” to receive their money.
In a letter to John Healey, the cross-party MPs warned that some veterans facing financial crisis are “suffering from severe mental health issues” without support “from the outset”.
LGBT veterans who faced mistreatment, including dismissal and bullying, because of their sexuality between July 1967 and January 2000 can make a claim through a financial recognition scheme worth £75 million.
Liberal Democrat MP Ben Maguire, who signed the letter, accused the Government of “now failing the very veterans they pledged to support”.
The North Cornwall MP said: “The slow pace of delivery is unacceptable and causing avoidable distress.
“Many of these LGBT veterans have already endured lifetimes of shame, stigma and rejection.”
Mr Maguire added: “These veterans should not have to suffer all over again because of bureaucratic delays.
“That’s why I’m very pleased to have colleagues from right across Parliament join me in demanding faster payments, and clearer transparency, for MPs and the public.”
The letter has 46 backers in total, including the Liberal Democrats’ defence spokeswoman Helen Maguire, several Labour and Plaid Cymru MPs, and Stonewall charity co-founder Lord Cashman.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, the Conservative MP for Gosport who also signed the letter, told the PA news agency that LGBT veterans had faced an “injustice that’s gone on for far too long”.
The MPs have requested that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) “widens the criteria for prioritisation to include all those in financial crisis”, to applicants “who are in most need of a swift decision suffering from financial crisis – not just when they are in ongoing bankruptcy proceedings in court”.
Fast-tracked applicants under the existing scheme include claimants who are facing bankruptcy or having their home repossessed through a court process.
“Many of these veterans who are in financial crisis, but are not yet in the court system, are still suffering from severe mental health issues because of a lack of financial support provided by the redress scheme from the outset,” the MPs warned.
They suggested that instead of making veterans who were dismissed or administratively discharged wait for their full award, “by making an immediate payment of £50,000 to all these veterans who qualify, the MoD can alleviate the pressure and anger being felt by this community and would provide a quick win for the MoD” before a panel considers whether to issue further payouts on a case-by-case basis.
“These veterans have struggled immensely to progress their claims, and after years of waiting for signs of hope are still waiting for settlement and closure,” the MPs added.
“We cannot allow this process to become damaged in the same way as other compensation schemes have.”
