§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many war pensions are currently paid for still physically unexplained illnesses which are accepted as being related to service in the 1990–91 Gulf conflict. [HL3923]
§ Lord BachThe information requested is not held. The war pension scheme provides no fault compensation for any illness or injury which is the result of any service in the Armed Forces regardless of theatre. Awards paid do not relate to particular diagnostic categories but reflect the assessed level of service related disablement.
§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many war pensions are in payment to members of the control group, made up of service men and women against whom the health of a group of Gulf War veterans of identical composition has been monitored. [HL3939]
§ Lord BachThe requested information relates to personal data collected for medical research. I am therefore withholding the information under exemption 11 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many war pensions are now in payment for medical conditions related to service in the 1990–91 Gulf conflict. [HL3940]
§ Lord BachThe information requested is not held. War pensions may be claimed at or beyond service termination and are paid for any disablement caused or made worse by an individual's service. They are not linked to a particular campaign and are not paid for specific diagnostic disorders. They reflect the assessed level of disablement due to all service related conditions. There are currently 2,690 war pensions in payment to people whose service includes the 1990–91 Gulf conflict.
§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
When the peer review process in relation to a link between service in the 1990–91 Gulf conflict and motor neurone disease began; and when they expect it to conclude. [HL3941]
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§ Lord BachThe Government have not commissioned research specifically into the prevalence of motor neurone disease (MND) among the United Kingdom veterans of the 1990–91 Gulf conflict.
The Government are aware of two studies in the United States suggesting that US veterans who had deployed to the Gulf in 1990–91 were nearly twice as likely as their non-deployed counterparts to develop MND. The findings were published in the peer review literature last year. The small number of cases identified and the methodological constraints mean that the findings must be considered only as preliminary. Moreover, the increased risk identified was not uniform across all deployed personnel. The research does not link MND with any specific environmental factors associated with Gulf service.
§ Lord Clement-Jonesasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will publish the letter relating to the independent public inquiry into Gulf War illnesses chaired by the Lord Lloyd of Berwick sent by a Ministry of Defence official on 14 July, as reported in the Guardian on 15 July, to members of the Depleted Uranium Oversight Board and others. [HL4029]
§ Lord BachThe letter dated 14 July 2004 from the Director of the Ministry of Defence Veterans Policy Unit to researchers and review board members participating in the MoD programme of research will be placed in the Library of the House. The main purpose of the letter was to advise researchers of the Government's approach to Lord Lloyd's investigation and on the handling of research material which has yet to be published in order to maintain its scientific credibility.