Clause 21

Richard Younger-Ross
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by what means he has implemented Clause 21 of the military covenant.

Derek Twigg
The Military Covenant is a stand-alone paragraph contained within the Army Doctrine (Land Operations); it does not contain any clauses.

Under the War Pensions Scheme, the Department has the discretionary power in article 21 of the Service Pensions Order to meet the cost of any necessary expenses in respect of the medical, surgical or rehabilitative treatment of a member of the armed forces that arise wholly or mainly arise as a result of the disablement due to service where it is not provided for free of charge under other legislation of the United Kingdom. This power predates the NHS and is now little used. The two main areas of expenditure under this provision are (1) the individual costs of war pensioners undergoing ‘remedial treatment’ at homes run by Combat Stress and (2) treatment costs for war pensioners who reside overseas.