§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many widows of servicemen who took part in the nuclear tests have applied for service widows' pensions on the grounds that their husbands' deaths resulted from the nuclear tests.
§ Mr. LyellI assume that the right hon. Member is referring to claims for war widows pensions. Since mid-1983, about 50 such claims have been recorded.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many service veterans of the nuclear tests have applied for a service invalidity pension; how many applications have been accepted; and what percentage this represents of the total applications.
533W
§ Mr. MajorSince mid-1983 it is known that about 110 claims to war disablement pension have been made on the grounds that disablement was caused by exposure to radiation from atomic bomb tests. None has been accepted on those grounds. In one case only however, a pension was awarded on appeal by the independent pensions appeal tribunal on the grounds of reasonable doubt.