VIEW ON THE STREET - Soldier compensation
1:24pm Thursday 17th July 2008
SHOULD soldiers receive higher payouts?
It has been announced that the maximum payout for a severely wounded British soldier is to increase from £285,000 to £570,000 and guaranteed income for life.
The news comes at a time when the Army is short of 5,000 soldiers it needs for full manning and thousands of troops are quitting the Services as a result of poor pay, accommodation and a feeling of general ill-treatment.
Soldier compensation battles have made headlines in recent years and it has long been argued that payments made to soldiers such as Paratrooper Ben Parkinson, who received £152,150 after losing both legs and suffering brain damage in a landmine explosion in Afghanistan last year, are unacceptably low.
The plans being announced by ministers also include a smaller rise in the awards made to servicemen who have sustained less serious injuries.
Kidderminster ex-solider, Stephen Hibbert, recently lost his million-pound bid to try and gain compensation after suffering deep psychological trauma that resulted from his service in Northern Ireland and Bosnia.
Lydia Worsey talks to the people on the streets of Kidderminster to find out if they support the new plans.
- Janet Colley, 71, retired, of Bewdley, said: “Yes they should be receiving that much, they do enough don’t they?
She added: "There should be a maximum limit on what they can get though. I think people should have psychological compensation - that is really important.”
- Frederick Baynham, 82, ex-Royal Marine, of Cookley, does not think that the new maximum is enough.
He said: “Some of them can never work again, it reduces their lifestyle to nothing and they will need attention the rest of their lives.
"There should be payouts for psychological illness resulting from combat.”
- Rob Birch, 27, a teacher, of Walsall, said: “That is not enough, I don’t think. You can’t put a price on a 21-year-old soldier’s life that is ruined and who can’t work ever again.
"I don’t know what the maximum should be. That sounds a lot but, in reality, it isn’t, not compared to what they lose.”
He added: “I’ve never considered the Services, it’s just not for me.”
- Douglas Edwards, 39, of Tenbury Wells, said: "I think that is about right.
"I'm not sure whether they had the guaranteed income for life before but, with that, I think that is a fair compensation. There should be a payout for people who suffer psychologically."
What do you think? Leave your comment below.