HC Deb 20 March 1998 vol 308 cc773-4W
Sir Peter Lloyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what products UN Resolution 986-Oil for Food and Medicine permits Iraq to buy abroad; what calculation he has made as to the value of the products the resolution permits Iraq to buy each year; and what calculation he has made as to how much Iraq actually spent on such products(a) last year and (b) so far this year. [35084]

Mr. Fatchett

United Nations Security Resolution (UNSCR) 986 and successor resolutions 1111 and 1143 permit Iraq to export oil to fund the purchase of foodstuffs, health supplies, medicine and supplies for essential civilian needs.

Outcome of income support, incapacity benefit, jobseekers allowance and disability living allowance appeals cleared at Social Security Appeal Tribunals (SSATs) in the Independent Tribunal Service (ITS), for the calendar year 1995
Hearing
(1) All heard and decided cases (2) Heard and decided in the appellant's favour (3) Heard and decided against the appellant (4) Non-hearing other outcomes (5) All cases that failed (6) Total appeals cleared
Income Support 40,597 16,708 23,889 14,781 38,670 55,378
Incapacity Benefit 3,973 1,820 2,153 1,078 3,231 5,051
UB 10,746 5,104 5,642 2,964 8,606 13,710
Disability Living Allowance1 232 97 135 40 175 272
1 Only a very small number of Disability Living Allowance appeals are heard by SSATs. The vast majority are heard by Disability Appeal Tribunals (DATs) for which limited data are available from ITS.

Source:

DSS Analytical Services Division.

The value of oil these resolutions permit Iraq to sell is $US 2 billion over a 6 month period. Of this, $US 1.2 billion is allocated to the purchase of the goods listed.

The most recent "oil for food" resolution, UNSCR 1153 increases the value of oil Iraq is permitted to sell over a 6 month period from $US 2 billion to $US 5.2 billion. In addition to permitting the purchase of the goods listed, it also allows for funds from the export of oil to be used to improve Iraq's infrastructure. UN statistics give figures for Iraq's spending under each resolution. According to the latest available UN figures, under UNSCR 986, contracts for goods valuing $US 1,212,863,515 have been approved. Under UNSCR 1111, contracts for goods valuing $US 999,938,770 have been approved.