§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many current or former service men have contacted his Department since August indicating they believed themselves to be suffering from Desert Storm syndrome arising from toxic poisoning or uranium contamination during the Gulf war.
§ Mr. HanleyThree former members of the armed forces have contacted my Department since the beginning of August believing themselves to be suffering from medical conditions which they attribute to exposure to oil fire smoke—one individual—or to depleted uranium—two individuals. In the same period, a further two former service men have contacted my Department believing themselves to be suffering from symptoms connected to their service in the Gulf, but without specific reference to the possible causes. There have been no such approaches in the period from serving armed forces personnel.
§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to monitor the congressional hearings currently being held into claims that service men involved in the Gulf war, including
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Full-time staff Part-time staff Total FTE Grades within the Open Structure and Occupational Groups Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Open Structure Grade 1 (including 1A) 4 0 4 0 0 0 4.0 0.0 4.0 Open Structure Grade 2 9 0 9 0 0 0 9.0 0.0 9.0 Open Structure Grade 3 47 2 49 0 1 1 47.0 2.5 49.5 Open Structure Grade 4 32 2 34 0 0 0 32.0 2.0 34.0 Open Structure Grade 5 272 8 280 1 1 2 272.5 8.5 281.0 Open Structure Grade 6 712 15 727 3 0 3 713.5 15.0 728.5 Open Structure Grade7 2,618 104 2,722 15 10 25 2,625.5 109.0 2,734.5 Senior Executive Officer 1,056 151 1,207 1 3 4 1,056.5 152.5 1,209.0 Higher Executive Officer (D) 12 7 19 0 0 0 12.0 7.0 19.0 Higher Executive Officer 2,112 885 2,997 0 36 36 2,112.0 903.0 3,015.0 Administration Trainee 5 1 6 0 0 0 5.0 1.0 6.0 Executive Officer 2,941 2,679 5,620 7 144 151 2,944.5 2,751.0 5,695.5 Administrative Officer 4,253 9,845 14,098 16 807 823 4,261.0 10,248.5 14,509.5 Administrative Assistant 1,612 5,110 6,722 21 882 903 1,622.5 5,551.0 7,173.5 Senior Economic Assistant 1 0 1 0 0 0 1.0 0.0 1.0 Senior Assistant Statistician 1 1 2 0 0 0 1.0 1.0 2.0 Assistant Statistician 1 0 1 0 0 0 1.0 0.0 1.0 Senior Information Officer 27 2 29 0 0 0 27.0 2.0 29.0 Information Officer 33 19 52 1 0 1 33.5 19.0 52.5 Assistant Information Officer 1 1 2 0 0 0 1.0 1.0 2.0 Senior Librarian 9 7 16 0 0 0 9.0 7.0 16.0 Librarian 19 29 48 0 1 1 19.0 29.5 48.5 Assistant Librarian 16 26 42 0 6 6 16.0 29.0 45.0 Museum Curatorial Group Grade D 5 0 5 0 0 0 5.0 0.0 5.0 Museum Curatorial Group Grade E 4 2 6 0 0 0 4.0 2.0 6.0 Museum Curatorial Group Grade F 8 1 9 0 0 0 8.0 1.0 9.0 United States service men on joint operations with United Kingdom service men, are suffering from Gulf war syndrome.
§ Mr. HanleyMembers of the British embassy and defence staff in Washington have attended the recent congressional hearings and have forwarded to my Department comprehensive details of the discussions which have taken place. They are also actively liaising with the Department of Defence, Health Service and Veterans Affairs officials to ensure that the United Kingdom is kept fully up to date with current developments, including any further congressional hearings which may take place.