Member's statement: Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme
Member's statement by Lord Elliott on .
- MLA
- Lord Elliott
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 20 May 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4490532
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I bring to Members' attention issues with the Troubles permanent disablement payment scheme: its slow approach in some instances and the fact that a number of people who should have benefited have not and that some have been refused. A very small number have been approved at this stage. One of the most frustrating aspects is the number of people who are still waiting, years after their application was made. I know of someone who has had their application in for over two years. They were injured — severely disabled — in a bomb explosion well over 40 years ago. They went through the process of application over two years ago. Their Capita assessment took place over one year ago. Now, the body has come back and said that it still does not have enough evidence, even though it is clear that the person is severely disabled and has not worked since the explosion in 1979. They are very frustrated. At this stage, the person and their family just do not know where to turn, because they feel that there is a lack of support and help from that body — it is nil — and they keep getting rejected. The process and the scheme have been in place long enough to be able to acknowledge people who are severely disabled as they should have been and to give them the payments for which they have waited for many decades.
240 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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