§ Mr. LivingstoneTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many sets of guidelines and instructions have been issued by his Department to its officials since 1986 to help them decide whether to award war pensions to claimants who are claiming disablement as a result of experiments at the Chemical Defence Establishment, Porton Down. [10227]
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§ Mr. HealdUnder war pensions legislation, awards may be made in respect of any disablement which is attributable to, or has been and remains aggravated by, service in the armed forces. No distinction is made between those who participated in experiments at Porton Down and other members of the armed forces who did not.
Guidance and instruction in determining entitlement to a war pension is contained in the war pensions manual available to all appropriate staff of the War Pensions Agency.
The version of the manual current in 1986 did not include a section which related solely to Porton Down cases.
That version was comprehensively rewritten in 1993, when a section about such claims was included. The manual was restructured in 1995 to coincide with the introduction of a new computer system and now consists of 12 separate guides, two of which mention Porton Down claims.
Of these two guides, a total of 79 and 117 sets respectively are currently in issue.
§ Mr. LivingstoneTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the current members of the Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions; in what form the advice of the committee is communicated to the Minister with special responsibility for war pensions; if this advice is publicly available; on what dates the committee has met since January 1993; and(a) if the minutes and (b) the committee's annual report are publicly available. [10228]
§ Mr. HealdThe current members of the Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions are listed below. Advice from members comes through discussion at the meetings, which are chaired by my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister of State, Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish, and through individual written representations. Copies of the minutes of committee meetings and supporting papers are distributed to members of the committee, the chairmen and vice chairmen of war pensions committees and to certain ex-service organisations which are not directly represented on the committee. Copies are not usually distributed more widely, but details of the main issues considered by the committee are published in the war pensioners' annual report1. The committee does not produce its own annual report.
Since January 1993, the committee has met on the following dates: 24 June 1993; 2 December 1993; 23 June 1994; 7 December 1994; 29 June 1995; 7 December 1995; 13 June 1996; and 5 December 1996.
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Members of the Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions Members Mrs. P. A. Ade OBE Chairman, North and West Wales War Pensions Committee (WPC) Major J. Aitkin TD CA Chairman, The Royal British Legion Scotland Major General C. G. Cornock CB MBE Chairman, The Confederation of British Service and Ex-Service Organisations Mr. T. S. Deeming MBE Chairman, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire WPC Brigadier A. K. Dixon Director, Ex-Services Mental Welfare Society Mr. P. H. Dixon OBE MA Vice Chairman, SSAFA Forces Help Mr. G. Downing Chairman, The Royal British Legion
members of the Central Advisory committee on War Pensions members Mr. I. Duncan Smith MP Conservative party Mr. W. R. Dunn MBE Chairman, Northumbria WPC Mr. I. Grainger Departmental Representative Major J. W. Henning MBE UD Chairman, Northern Ireland WPC Mr. D. B. Hilton The Royal British Legion Scotland Lt. Col. R. R. Holland OBE BEM General Secretary, British Limbless Ex-Servicemans' Association Mr. T. C. House The Royal British Legion Mr. W. G. MacDonald Chairman, North of Scotland WPC Lord Mackie of Benshie CBE DSO DFC Liberal Democrat party Mr. A. Meale MP Labour party Mrs. H. Murphy MBE Honorary Secretary, War Widows' Association of Great Britain Mr. W. S. Mutimer MBE JP MIPM Chairman, London South WPC Mrs. P. Newnes OBE Chairman, West Midlands, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire WPC Mr. F. E. Onyon MBE Chairman, Lancashire WPC Sir Roger Palin KCB OBE MA Controller, RAF Benevolent Fund Mr. A. G. Palmer MBE Chairman, East Anglia WPC Mr. H. L. Payne CBE President, National Federation of FEPOW Clubs and Associations Brigadier H. L. B. Salmon OBE Chairman, The Chilterns WPC Mr. F. E. Walker MBE Chairman, Sussex WPC Lt. Col. R. G. Woodhouse DL Chairman, South West England WPC The Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish and Mrs. Anne Bowtell, DSS permanent secretary, are ex officio members of the Committee.
Captain D. J. Mooney, Chairman of the Republic of Ireland War Pensions Advisory Committee, is an official observer to the Committee.
1Report to Parliament by the Secretaries of State for Social Security, Health. Scotland and Wales in accordance with the Transfer of Functions (Ministry of Pensions) Order 1953 (SI 1198).