I would now like to draw attention to something that seems obvious to me.
In a document published by the department, there is a table entitled “Total number of pending disability benefit applications”. One of the columns is entitled “Incomplete applications needing more information”.
For the last quarter, there were 12,381 incomplete applications and 2,147 applications ready for assignment. I'd like to draw attention to this difference.
What is going on? Is this discrepancy explained by the fact that the computer system is too complex and the bureaucracy doesn't allow all applications to be processed?
There are six times more incomplete applications than applications ready for assignment. That isn't a question, it's an observation. Our employees' time is being wasted and it's appalling for our military members.