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CAFF UK Correspondence with Peter Viggers - June 2007



Mr P Viggers M.P.
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

16th May 2007

Dear Mr Viggers

E.D.M. No. 67 Debated in the House of Commons January 31st 2007

Thank you for your letter dated 1st May 2007. Please find enclosed copy of transcript of the above debate to which we wish to refer in our Researched Report on this issue.

Would you please request Adam Ingram M.P. Minister of State (Armed Forces), Ministry of Defence to provide the following information and/or answers to questions as follows:-

  1. Why does the Minister refer to matters of retrospection in relation to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme when according to the Social Security Act 1973 and the Social Security Pensions Act 1975, these are matters of transitional and transfer arrangements?
  2. Ref page 5 of 7 of the Transcript the Minister claims, “the issue is common to other Public Service schemes”. Also “The campaign would have to apply to all Public Sector Schemes”.

    Please detail which other Public Service Pension Schemes this issue is common to in detail? Or, any other employees affected?
  3. Ref page 5 of 7 of the Transcript the Minister claims, “the contributions the armed forces made pre 1975 is valued in many other ways”.

    Please detail the many other ways in which they are valued?

  4. Ref page 6 of 7 the Minister refers to, “the wider costs, too, would be of considerable magnitude”.

    Please state in detail what costs are referred to as “Wider Costs”.

We should appreciate a reply at his earliest convenience.

Thanking you for your kind attention.

Yours sincerely

David Robson
Secretary General
The Combined Armed Forces Federation UK
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The Secretary General has received an unsatisfactory reply from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Veterans) Minister Derek Twigg M.P.and has forwarded the following letter to Mr P Viggers M.P. requesting him to forward his letter dated 16/5/07 as above to the Secretary of State for Defence Mr D Browne M.P. for his response as follows:

Mr P Viggers M.P.
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

22nd June 2007

Dear Mr Viggers

E.D.M. No. 67 Debated in the House of Commons January 31st 2007

Thank you for your letter dated 18th June 2007 and enclosure from Derek Twigg M.P. in reply to my letter to Adam Ingram M.P., Minister of State, requesting him to justify his comments he made in the above E.D.M. No. 67 Debate. (Copy enclosed).

As you will appreciate the response from Derek Twigg M.P. fails to address any of the questions put to the Minister and merely re-iterates much of the information we already have to hand.

It is our opinion that most of this information emanating from Ministers and M.O.D. Departments on this issue amounts to mis-information which is incorrect according to our research. This is not an issue of anomalies or legacies as claimed by the M.O.D. but an issue of “irregularities” which urgently need correcting. The Armed Forces are being penalised for having given loyal service to this country and this kind of response is totally unacceptable.

Would you now put these questions, enclosed in my letter, to the Secretary of State for Defence Mr. D. Brown, M.P. for reply as a matter of courtesy to the Armed Forces veterans and, at his earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely

We should appreciate a reply at his earliest convenience.

Thanking you for your kind attention.

Yours sincerely

David Robson
Secretary General
The Combined Armed Forces Federation UK
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