Exclusive: Terminally ill veteran's benefits stopped by Department for Work and Pensions
Veterans awarded compensation under a government reparations scheme have seen their benefits wrongly stopped by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), according to a charity.
Fighting With Pride, which supports LGBT veterans, says three of its members – including one who is terminally ill – have been affected since May.
Under the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme, payouts are meant to be ringfenced from assessment by the DWP and HM Revenue and Customs, meaning benefit entitlements should not be affected.
Talking exclusively to BFBS Forces News, Fighting With Pride's chief executive Peter Gibson said the minister responsible needs to "get a grip."
"What needs to happen is somebody – the minister – inside the DWP needs to get a grip and make sure people in his department are not stopping veterans' benefits," Mr Gibson said.
He explained that incidents involving benefits being stopped first occurred in May. That case, which involved a terminally ill person, was rectified and the department gave assurances it would not happen again.
However, Mr Gibson said that last week his organisation was alerted to two further instances in which benefits were stopped — which he described as "just not right."
"What's happened in the last few weeks is as these sums or reparations have arrived with individuals, the DWP has then stopped their entitlement to benefits.
"That's just not right. This scheme, these monies, [veterans] are entitled to them without any deduction from their benefits. It's ringfenced from consideration by DWP, and it's ringfenced from consideration by HMRC.
"It's just not right and it needs sorting out now," Mr Gibson said.
The LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme was announced by the government in December 2024 and is one of the key recommendations made by the judge-led inquiry into the experiences and treatment of LGBT people in Britain's Armed Forces before the year 2000.
That inquiry, led by the late Lord Etherton, resulted in then-prime minister Rishi Sunak apologising on behalf of the state to all who had been impacted by the ban on LGBT people serving in the military.
Since its launch, the scheme has faced criticism over delays in issuing payments.
In July, Veterans Minister Al Carns announced he was increasing the number of staff working on the scheme and that the Office for Veterans' Affairs was introducing a new automated payment system "to eliminate processing delays and administrative bottlenecks".
Mr Gibson said his organisation has received a high volume of phone calls and emails from veterans about the scheme since it was announced, adding that this latest problem will do nothing to ease concerns.
He said: "This just increases people's anxiety.
"I can tell you from the correspondence we are getting, there is real anguish about how this scheme is being delivered.
"And every time something is a misstep for one or two veterans, it causes angst, anxiety and real unrest for those other veterans who are still waiting for their money to come through."
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: "We are deeply proud of our veterans, and the contribution they make to our country.
"Compensation payments from the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme should not affect the amount of means-tested benefits.
"We have issued guidance to staff and are working closely with stakeholder groups to make sure DWP customers are aware of the rules."
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