16.3 |
Military fatalities and the bereaved
44.
Ministers had
already indicated that, in certain circumstances, the
Government
would
extend benefits to unmarried partners on a “case‑by‑case”
basis.
45.
That position
now needed to be clarified and formalised, by agreeing that
AFPS
benefits
should be extended to unmarried partners for deaths attributable to
service.
46.
On 20 March,
Dr Lewis Moonie, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
for
Defence,
announced that, with immediate effect, where a member of the Armed
Forces
died as a
result of service related to conflict, ex‑gratia payments
equivalent to the
benefits
paid to a surviving spouse under the AFPS could be awarded to their
unmarried
partner,
where there was a substantial relationship.32
47.
In late March,
the MOD’s Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency
(AFPAA)
wrote to
the spouse of a Serviceman who had been killed in Iraq advising
that an
overpayment
of her late husband’s salary – relating to the period between his
death
and formal
identification – would be recovered from her
benefits.33
48.
The bereaved
spouse also felt that the AFPAA was pressuring her to leave
her
Service
Family Accommodation (SFA).
49.
The MOD’s
policy at that time was to allow spouses of deceased Service
Personnel
to remain
in SFA for up to six months.34
That period
could be extended in some
circumstances.
50.
The case
attracted significant press attention.
51.
The bereaved
spouse wrote to Mr Blair on 26 March, setting out her
concerns.
Mr Blair
replied on 7 April, stating that Mr Hoon would consider the
detailed points
raised in
her letter, but assuring her that she would be given all the time
she required
to consider
her future housing needs.35
52.
Mr Hoon
told Lt Gen Palmer on 15 April that he was “very
uncomfortable” with the
MOD’s
handling of the case, including both the tone and content of the
AFPAA’s letter.36
Lt Gen Palmer
confirmed that the letter was “factually incorrect”, as there were
no
grounds for
seeking repayment.
53.
The following
day, Mr Hoon tasked Lt Gen Palmer to oversee “a
comprehensive
review of
the way in which all three Services handled bereaved
families”.37
32
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 20 March
2003, column 54WS.
33
Minute
Palmer to 2SL [MOD], 15 April 2003, ‘Op TELIC – Pay, Pensions and
Allowances Issues on
Death of
Service Personnel’.
34
Record, 12
May 2003, ‘Record of Bereavement Policy Meeting Held in St Giles
Court at 1330 on
7 May
2003’.
35
Letter
Blair to [name redacted], 7 April 2003, [untitled].
36
Minute
Palmer to 2SL [MOD], 15 April 2003, ‘Op TELIC – Pay, Pensions and
Allowances Issues on
Death of
Service Personnel’.
37
Minute
Cooper to CE AFPAA, 24 April 2003, ‘Assistance to Bereaved
Relatives – Policy Review’.
85