Cost of Army hearing claims came to £30m

Compensation payments and legal costs arising from claims from Defence Force members for alleged loss of hearing amounted to £…

Compensation payments and legal costs arising from claims from Defence Force members for alleged loss of hearing amounted to £30.3 million last year, the largest non-pay item of spending by the Department of Defence.

Some £36.8 million was spent on all compensation claims, including a relatively small number of claims not related to alleged hearing loss; £16 million was initially allocated, but a supplementary estimate of £22 million was voted during the year. A further 9,036 claims in respect of alleged loss of hearing and 714 other compensation claims were outstanding at December 31st, 1997.

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