Clause 1 - Pension and compensation schemes: armed and reserve forces
Armed Forces(Pensions and Compensation) Bill
2:30 pm
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot, Conservative)
So says my hon. and gallant Friend, and, as Soldier is published in Aldershot, I am perfectly prepared to accept that description. I am sure that the Minister has seen the article in this month's edition, in which the Ministry's chief claims officer Jef Mitchell says:
''The hidden costs of settling claims is estimated to be roughly six times the value of the actual compensation paid'',
when one adds the on-costs—the costs of repairing broken equipment, recruiting and training new staff, and so on. We are talking about a figure of roughly £600 million. Those of us who have an interest in the successful operation of the armed forces are concerned that when £600 million is spent on compensation and associated costs, it will not be available, for example, to order another couple of Eurofighters, or Typhoons, as we now call them.
The article is interesting, because it illustrates the extent to which compensation is now claimed and is now payable. It says:
''Statistics indicate that within the past five years more than £6 million has been paid to those injured through lifting and handling, slips and trips have cost £4.3 million and accidents on steps and stairs have led to £2 million in pay-outs.''
That indicates the range of the injuries that we are discussing. According to the article, the Ministry has been
''billed £283,000 for bad-fitting boots, £172,000 for paintball injuries, £60,000 for animal attacks, £51,000 by those injured after falling out of bed and £46,000 for food poisoning.''—
[Interruption.] Would the hon. Member for Cleethorpes (Shona McIsaac) like to intervene? Does she have examples to which I have not alluded?
My hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid-Kent (Hugh Robertson) has helpfully pointed to another detail in Soldier magazine—perhaps I should have a word with the editor, because he has provided us with some very interesting facts and not a little entertainment. Apparently, a
''parrot, startled by a low-flying military aircraft, fell of a perch and broke both legs. The parrot's owner sued the MoD and received compensation to cover veterinary bills including the cost of two splints.''