§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bach on 24 September, whether they will now compare, in number and percentage terms the incidence of "symptoms and signs of ill-defined conditions" (SSIDC) among Gulf veterans who were (a) regular and (b) reservist members of the Armed Forces deployed to liberate Kuwait. [HL5770]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)The Answer to which the noble Lord refers concerns mortality. In the period 1 April 1991 to 30 June 2002, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is aware of five Gulf veterans having died who were regulars at the time of the Gulf Conflict and whose deaths have been coded by the Office for National Statistics to the World Health Organisation'sInternational Classification of Diseases, (ICD) 9th revision, (1977) Chapter XVI, Symptoms, Signs and Ill-defined Conditions (SSIDC). Four of these deaths 78WA occurred overseas, and despite inquiries by MoD staff, the precise cause of the deaths has not been established. In the remaining case, the body of the deceased was found some three weeks after death. The coroner recorded a verdict of misadventure and the cause of death as unascertainable.
The MoD is not aware of any deaths so coded for reservists who served in the Gulf during the conflict. In the control group there were 11 deaths, all of whom were regulars, coded to ICD 9 Chapter XVI for similar reasons of insufficient cause data.
§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bach on 24 September, how many Gulf veterans with war pensions related to their service in the Gulf War were (a) regular and (b) reservist members of the Armed Forces deployed to liberate Kuwait. [HL5771]
§ Lord BachAs at 30 June 2002, there had been 5,257 claims from ex-service personnel who served in the Gulf. While the Veterans Agency requires confirmation of service when considering a claim for war pensions, information relating to regular or reserve service and details of deployment are not recorded for statistical purposes. Therefore, this information requested is not available in the format required; it could be obtained only at disproportionate effort.
§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
What to date have been the legal costs for the Ministry of Defence in cases involving pension appeals by Gulf war victims. [HL5773]
§ Lord BachTo date counsels' fees for legal services in connection with war pension appeals involving Gulf war veterans amount to £3,250.41.