§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the reference to the case of Gunner Tom Ford of the 2nd Field Regiment Royal Artillery in the debate on Gulf War illnesses on 2 February (H.L. Deb., col. 480), whether there has been any progress in his application for a war pension; and how many other applications for war pensions by Gulf War veterans remain unresolved. [HL713]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Social Security (Baroness Hollis of Heigham)One of our key aims is that delivery of service should be simpler and more efficient. Queries on operational matters concerning the War Pensions Agency are for its Acting Chief Executive, Mr. Steve Johnson. I have asked him to write to the noble Lord.
Letter to Lord Morris of Manchester from the Acting Chief Executive of the War Pensions Agency, Mr. S. Johnson, dated 13 March 1998.
Baroness Hollis of Heigham has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the progress of Mr. Thomas Ford's application for a war pension and also how many other applications for war pensions by Gulf War veterans remain unresolved.
May I first explain that claims from Gulf War veterans are often complex and can take some time because extensive medical and service evidence may be needed in order to determine a claim. A number of medical conditions are often claimed, and we need to obtain a variety of reports from different consultants in
110WAorder to accurately assess the level and type of disablement.
Mr. Ford was notified on 11 February 1998 that two of his claimed conditions had been accepted for war pension purposes and he has received payment accordingly. There are further claimed conditions still under consideration and these are being dealt with urgently. A decision will be notified to Mr. Ford as soon as possible.
As at 23 February 1998, of 1,977 claims made by Gulf War veterans, 519 first claims remain outstanding. The agency has devoted extra skilled resources to the processing of Gulf cases and has improved the average time taken to process cases for Gulf War veterans from 304 days to 197 days since April 1997.
I hope you find my reply helpful.