Health Services: Ex-servicemen

Health written question – answered at on 15 June 2011.

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Photo of Louise Mensch Louise Mensch Conservative, Corby

To ask the Secretary of State for Health

(1) what the rate of travel and subsistence reclaimable by war pensioners from the NHS is; and on what date the rates were most recently changed;

(2) whether he has considered the merits of increasing the rate of subsistence reclaimable by war pensioners from the NHS.

Photo of Paul Burstow Paul Burstow The Minister of State, Department of Health

Patient transport and healthcare travel cost support from the national health service is available to all eligible NHS patients and is not a specific allowance for war pensioners or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme recipients. The Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) has a scheme to reimburse hospital travelling expenses to war pensioners.

NHS non-urgent transport is provided via Patient Transport Services (PTS) that are maintained by NHS Commissioners (primary care trusts). These are generally booked by relevant secondary or community services medical professionals. Eligibility for non-urgent transport is based upon clinical need and is available free to all NHS patients.

The Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme (HTCS) is designed to help with travel costs and arrangements for all NHS patients on low incomes. The HTCS is for those who do not medically require PTS but require help in meeting the cost of travel to and from NHS medical care. The HTCS is means tested for low-income earners, with those on a range of low-income benefits automatically entitled. This scheme is constituted under the National Health Service (Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges) Regulations 1988 as amended.

The HTCS will reimburse all or some of the travel costs depending on eligibility. If the patient is entitled to qualifying benefits or allowances they will get back the full travel costs by using the cheapest form of public transport available, including any concessions or promotions. If the patient uses a private car, a claim for petrol and car parking charges where unavoidable, can be made at the mileage rate specified under the local HTCS. Rates are determined locally.

The HTCS will apply for war pensioners receiving treatment for conditions other than those for which they receive a war pension. It does not apply in cases where war pensioners obtain treatment for conditions caused by service for which they are in receipt of a war pension. In those cases, expenses may be met by the SPVA who will apply their eligibility criteria to individual cases. The SPVA align their travel allowances with those of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The HMRC have not changed these allowances since 2007 and therefore the SPVA allowances have also remained constant.

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