Freedom of Information (FOI)
Request for help
Service personnel and veterans harmed on duty are supported by the Ministry of Defence while serving and afterwards through their pension and compensation. The MOD publishes little about its decision making processes.
Freedom of Information (FOI) requests are a key way to learn about the support provided.
The Veteran Law Project have topics we'd like to learn more about to support our work. If you find a topic below interesting or important, please feel free to submit a FOI request.
How to submit a FOI request (best process to make the reply publicly available to all)
- Log into or sign up to the What Do They Know website*
- Select "Make a Request"
- Under "Find an Authority" enter Ministry of Defence and scroll down/onto the 2nd page and beside Ministry of Defence select "Make a Request"
- For each topic below we're provided a suggested "Summary" and text to enter in the main "Your request" box
- Click "Next Step: Preview your Public Request"
- If all looks correct, select "Submit"
- Your request will then be live on the What Do They Know website. Please send the link to the request to us at info@veteranlawproject.org.uk.
The above process, once used to it, will take less than five minutes to complete.
* "You have the right to request information from any public body, and get answers. WhatDoTheyKnow helps you make a Freedom of Information request for free. It also publishes all requests online."
Potential topics to ask the Ministry of Defence about
Topic 1:
Summary (i.e. topic):
Armed Forces Compensation Scheme clearance times minimum duration (2024/25) - claims, survivor claims, reconsiderations, and appeals
Your request:
The Ministry of Defence publishes the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) annual statistics. The latest AFCS annual report for 2024/25 is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/armed-forces-compensation-scheme-statistics-financial-year-202425
1. Of all the appeals submitted during the 2024/25 financial year that made it to a tribunal hearing, what was the shortest period of time, in working days, between the MOD or Tribunal lodging the appeal and the tribunal hearing?
2. For the 2024/25 financial year, what was the minimum clearance time, in working days, for each of the following: AFCS injury/illness claims, AFCS survivor claims and AFCS reconsiderations?
Reason for above request:
The AFCS annual statistics include a spreadsheet in which four tables are relevant:
AFCS 2024/25 annual statistics, Table 6 - injury/illness claims:
The Excel spreadsheet provided for 2024/25 includes Table 6 "Summary statistics for injury/illness claims clearance times in working days". For each financial year between 2018/19 and 2024/25, the Ministry of Defence processed at least one AFCS claim within one working day. The same sheet shows that, for the financial years between 2006/07 and 2014/15 , and for 2017/18, that the MOD processed at least one claim in 0 working days. These minimum durations seem highly unlikely.
AFCS 2024/25 annual statistics, Table 7 - survivors' claims:
Table 7 "Summary statistics for survivors claims clearance times in working days" shows that at least one survivor claim between 2005/06 and 2024/25 was processed in 1-40 working days.
AFCS 2024/25 annual statistics, Table 8 - reconsiderations:
Table 8 "Summary statistics for reconsiderations [note 30] clearance times in working days" shows that, for the financial years between 2005/06 and 2024/25, at least one reconsideration was processed in 0-2 working days.
AFCS 2024/25 annual statistics, Table 9 - appeals:
Table 9 "Summary statistics for appeals clearance times in working days" shows that, for the financial years between 2005/06 and 2024/25, at least one appeal was lodged, processed, submitted and heard within 0-57 working days.
It is highly unlikely that any government department can receive, lodge, process and make a decision on a valid claim in zero working days. The figures referred to above are from a Ministry of Defence accredited official statistic, which appears to annually contain errors.
This FOI request will help the Ministry of Defence be better aware of its decision making times and inaccuracies in its information gathering and reporting. This, in turn, will better enable the MOD to plan its future work regarding AFCS claims, benefitting those harmed on duty, the MOD itself and the public's confidence in the system.