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War Pensions

Volume 264: debated on Monday 23 October 1995

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To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many recipients of war pensions are accepted as suffering from post traumatic stress disorder attributable to service. [37085]

The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many war pensioners currently receive war pensions based on an assessed disablement of 50 per cent. or more. [37087]

As at 30 June 1995, the latest date for which figures are available, 70,894 people were receiving war disablement pensions based on assessed disablement of 50 per cent. or more.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what effect the acceptance that post traumatic stress disorder is attributable to service has on an assessed war disablement pension which was based upon physical injury. [37086]

Except for certain specified injuries, the assessment of disablement for war pension purposes is a matter of medical judgment. Disablement is assessed on a percentage basis by comparing the condition of the disabled person with that of a healthy person of the same age and sex. Where there is more than one injury or disease accepted as due to service, the certified assessment takes into account the overall degree of disablement from all the accepted causes. When a new condition is accepted as attributable to service, a new assessment is made of the overall degree of disablement from all the accepted conditions. The maximum possible assessment is 100 per cent.