A minister has promised to speed up efforts to give financial redress to LGBT veterans who faced mistreatment in the armed forces. The £75 million redress scheme was set up in December, offering payments of up to £70,000 to veterans to "acknowledge the historic wrongs they experienced in the armed forces".
LGBT people in the military were abused, assaulted and dishonourably discharged without pay, and went on to suffer lifelong consequences after their sexuality was discovered in the pre-2000 era. Al Carns, the veterans minister, has promised to increase the number of staff processing applications by five, effectively doubling the size of the team, after MPs highlighted delays that veterans were facing in a Westminster Hall debate.
New automated payment system
He also pledged a new automated payments scheme would be rolled out, after telling MPs that problems with the system were a "key reason" for delays. Mr Carns also said the independent panel overseeing the financial redress scheme would double its sittings to two per week to speed up review cases which need to be assessed.
The veterans minister said: "We deeply regret the treatment of LGBT serving personnel between 1967 and 2000 which was wholly unacceptable. We have been prioritising payments to the elderly and those with serious health conditions to ensure they receive support as quickly as possible."
Government commitment to historic wrongs
He added: "We're taking decisive action to ensure LGBT veterans receive the recognition they deserve by increasing staff resources, implementing an automated payment system, and doubling panel reviews. This scheme acknowledges the sacrifices of those who faced discrimination while serving."
Mr Carns urged all affected veterans to apply through the gov.uk portal as the Government remained "fully committed to implementing Lord Etherton's recommendations, and righting these historic wrongs, as part of our Government's commitment to renew the nation's contract with those who have served". Fighting With Pride, a charity which advocates for the former personnel, said only 84 veterans out of 1,300 who have applied for the financial payment have been paid so far.
Application numbers revealed
At the Westminster Hall debate, Mr Carns elaborated on the number of applications the Government had received. He told MPs the Government had "received many applications for the scheme" as of July 7 - 944 of which were submitted online and 162 received as hard-copy applications.
Mr Carns added: "The first payments were made just 15 weeks after the scheme's official launch and I am pleased to report that we have now paid over £4.2 million in total in the redress scheme. There were payments to 84 applicants for the dismissed or discharged payment, with each applicant receiving over £50,000."
Future improvements expected
Additionally, the Government has made £82,000 in impact payments to 11 applicants, ranging from £1,000 to £2,000. Mr Carns said he expected to see "the scheme speeding up considerably in the not-so-distant future".
(PA/London) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
