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How to apply for a War Pension.
You should give as much information or evidence that you can to support your claim. Even so, there are certain pieces of information the government will need to know to process an accurate claim. The AFCS/WPS001 form provides extra guidance notes on the type of information needed.
For example, the assessors will need to know certain facts about the injury or illness that you are claiming for, such as:
• The total area that a wound or injury covers (including internal disease such as cancers).
• Whether it affects only one side of your body (or both).
• The date that the injury occurred or when you first noticed symptoms of the illness.
They will also gather information about any incident or exposure that you feel caused the injury or illness. This may include questions about:
• What were you were doing when the incident occurred?
• Did the injury occur during a journey? If so, please give the details and reason for the journey.
• Did the incident happen while you were participating in a sporting activity? If so:
• Were you representing your unit or regiment?
• Was it during an organised Physical Training (PT) session?
• Was it in your own time?
• Why do you feel that it was your Service that caused the injury?
Note: Providing copies of any supporting documentation including service records https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records/apply-for-someone-elses-records (e.g. reports from your Medical Officer, accident reports) will help them deal with your claim more quickly. The link to access your service records is attached below.
Please note that BOTH forms (4-page Nuclear Test Priority Claim Form and the 22-page War Pensions' Form) need to be completed by the claimant to apply for the pension. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/war-pension-scheme-wps
Currently, there are delays with War Pension applications, and the BNTVA is waiting for a reply from the Office of Veterans' Affairs concerning the unexplained hold ups.
How to retrieve information to apply for a War Pension.
It is a good idea to be prepared by submitting a Subject Access Request at the outset of your claim by contacting ALL health authority/Clinical Commissioning Groups where you have received treatment or outpatients' appointments, as well as a request to your primary-care GP practice for your records. If you are online, the email address of your local health authority is generally under a quick google search for medical records at your particular health authority.
Specific information will only be released to the subject of the application unless another individual has written permission from the claimant for the documents to be released.
Please make sure you tick all boxes to receive as much information as possible regarding scans, x-rays and any procedure or outcome.
The BNTVA can help you with your application or appeal, subject to the belief that your injury is as a result of military service, otherwise known as a military attributable injury.
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CAMPAIGN WINTER 2021