Compensation Scheme For Former Far East Prisoners And Internees

26 Jun 2006 04:15 PM

The extended £10,000 payment scheme for former Far East prisoners of war and civilian internees (FEPOW) was launched today by Veterans Minister Tom Watson.

With immediate effect, the scheme now includes those who were British subjects when interned and who had lived in the UK for 20 years by 7 November 2000.

Mr Watson said:

"I am delighted that our extended scheme is now in place. Any civilian or former member of Britain's colonial forces who was interned by the Japanese as a British subject and who lived in the United Kingdom for a total of 20 years between 1945 and the launch of the scheme in November 2000 is invited to contact the Veterans Agency to lodge a claim for this ex-gratia payment of £10,000.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Association of British Civilian Internees - Far East Region (ABCIFER) and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on FEPOWS. My department has been working closely with them in recent weeks to define the details of the scheme and I am extremely grateful to them for their help and expert knowledge.

"Nothing can truly compensate for the terrible hardship and suffering endured by these men and women - some of them only children at the time - who were interned by the Japanese during World War II. I am extremely pleased that by opening up the scheme at least 500 additional people will now qualify for this payment. We are extremely keen to make these payments as quickly as possible, and I would urge anyone who thinks they might be eligible to contact the Veterans Agency Helpline on 0800 169 2277."

The extended scheme was originally announced on 28 March 2006. Eligibility for the ex-gratia payment scheme will now apply to any former prisoner or spouse who was alive on 7 November 2000, when the Scheme was introduced, or to their estate if they have since died. Notes to Editors

1. The ex-gratia payment scheme for former Far East Prisoners of War (FEPOW) and civilian internees was announced on 7 November 2000. The scheme awarded a payment of £10,000 to certain individuals who had been held captive by the Japanese or to the surviving spouses of those who had died. The underlying principle was that the individuals should have had British subjects at time of internment and that they should have had a close link to the UK. Payments were initially made to claimants who had been normally resident in the United Kingdom before internment and who had returned to the UK after. In March 2001, the criteria was changed to what became known as the Birthlink Criteria, which gave entitlement if the individual or one of his/her parents or grandparents was born in the UK. Some 25,000 payments have already been made to a value of some £250M.

2. The former Veterans Minister Don Touhig announced a Review of the criteria that had been used for deciding payments to the scheme when he appeared before the Public Administration Select Committee on 1 December 2005; this was because evidence emerged that the criteria had not been applied consistently.

3. On 28 March 2006 the Minister announced that, following the review of some 30,000 case files, the scheme would be extended to cover those civilians and former members of colonial forces who had been British subjects at the time of capture and had resided in the United Kingdom for 20 or more years as at 7 November 2000.

4. The extended scheme, details of which were announced to Parliament today will now cover those civilian internees who were:

* interned by the Japanese during the Second World War; and were * British at the time of internment; and one of the following: * resident in the United Kingdom for 20 or more years in the UK as at 7 November 2000, or,
* named on a Japanese Asset record and interned or, would have met the Japanese Asset criteria i.e.
interned and normally resident in the UK before the Second World War and returned shortly afterwards;
an interned child of the above or surviving spouse

5. Those who served in the British Armed Forces are also eligible if either:
* they served in a unit based in the UK (or joined a locally recruited element of such a unit); or
* if they served in a unit of a country for which the UK had responsibility under the 1951 treaty with Japan; or
* if they served in another colonial unit, were British subjects at the time of capture and had, since imprisonment by the Japanese, resided in the UK for at least 20 years by 7 November 2000.

6. Under the separate scheme, based on payment from Japanese Assets liquidated following the UK's ratification of the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, modest compensation payments were made in the 1950s to some who had been imprisoned or detained by the Japanese.

7. The two other fundamental requirements of the Scheme remain unchanged and must also be met, namely that claimants must have been British at the time of their internment and have been held captive within a specifically designated camp controlled by the Japanese.

8. Claimants will be required to provide evidence that they were British at the time of capture, that they were detained by the Japanese and that they meet the 20-year residency requirement. Evidence of residence might include, for example, details from the UK Electoral Register, records of National Insurance Contributions, evidence of owning and occupying a property in UK, a statement by an independent landlord confirming residence, or appropriate employment records.

9. The detailed rules for meeting the 20-year residency requirement have also been published today and are as follows:

a. The United Kingdom is defined as comprising England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Residency in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man would not qualify as these are Crown Dependencies.

b. The period within which residency can be counted as qualifying towards the 20-year total is between 1 January 1945 and 7 November 2000.

c. A claimant does not have to have been resident in the UK on 7 November 2000.

d. Periods eligible in this way will include, for example, time spent:

* in the UK Armed Forces,
* on UK Government service,
* posted on business,
* serving on British merchant ships, oil rigs etc.

10. Claimants who spent time overseas because they were the spouse of someone who was temporarily posted overseas (as at (5) above) can also count that time towards their qualifying 20-year period.

11. A surviving spouse does not have to have lived in the UK for at least 20 years to be eligible to claim. Entitlement, as now, will depend on whether the former POW/Internee met the scheme criteria.

12. Illegal residency in the UK will not count towards the 20 years.

13. Residence in an EU state, other than the UK, does not count towards the 20 years unless this was for the reasons given in (5) and (6) above.

14. There is no minimum age required before residency counts towards the 20 year period.

15. Anyone who has benefited under another such scheme is not eligible for a payment from the UK scheme.

16. Those who have already been paid in their own right under the UK scheme announced on 7 November 2000, whether as a former military POW or as a former civilian internee, will not be eligible for a second payment under the 20-year residency rule.

17. Further details on how to claim can be obtained through the Veterans Agency Helpline on 0800 169 2277.