About
the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA)
Historical Veterans Agency Information
T he
Great War & Beyond
The Great War (1914-1918) with its many casualties highlighted the fact that
the arrangements for War Pensions were inadequate.
In 1916 a Parliamentary Select Committee recommended that the existing pension
provisions should be incorporated into one War Pension Scheme administered by
a new Department. In 1917 the Ministry of Pensions was established, later becoming
the Department of Social Security.
In 1921 legislation was passed to introduce
the Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions. The Committee made up of departmental
officials, ex-servicemen and representatives of ex-service organisations continues
to meet twice a year.
World War II saw the war pension scheme expanded
to include ex-members of the Polish Forces who served under British Command,
Merchant Seamen and civilians injured due to enemy action. War Pensions work
was relocated to Blackpool, where it still is today.
Since the two World Wars there have been other
major conflicts such as the Falklands in 1982 and the Gulf War 1991 and more
recently in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afhganistan. Any disablement due to these
conflicts, or any other service cause, can lead to the award of a war pension.
The scheme therefore continues to be administered.
The War Pensioners' Welfare Service (WPWS) started in 1948
when the Ministry of Pensions decided that it's responsibility to war pensioners'
extended beyond payment of an award. Welfare Managers were appointed to offer
practical help with all kinds of problems. The WPWS maintains this important
role today.
In December 1990, a Government sponsored report on the efficiency
of war pensions recommended that a dedicated unit should administer it and
in 1991 the War Pensions Directorate was launched, becoming the War Pensions
Agency in 1994.
In 1992 the War Pensions Helpline was set up to offer assistance
over the phone to war pensioners and their representatives. In April 2000
following a recommendation by the Social Security Select Committee the helpline
became a Freephone service to all residents in the UK.
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