§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give a breakdown of the cost of potential claims 553W resulting from Gulf War related illnesses for (a) the UK and (b) Scotland, indicating for each the estimated numbers of claimants. [131596]
§ Mr. SpellarAs at 4 July 2000 the Ministry of Defence had received 1,841 notices of intention to claim from veterans and members of their families in respect of illness allegedly arising from the Gulf conflict, although no writs or properly formulated claims have so far been received. It will not be possible to estimate the overall cost of these claims until such time as specific allegations of negligence have been submitted together with an indication of an individual's symptoms, degree of disability and personal circumstances, which would determine the level of any award.
The Ministry of Defence does not record the number of intentions to claim by region.
§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people claiming to be suffering from Gulf War related illnesses there are in Scotland; and how many of these are in receipt of(a) pensions and (b) benefits as a result of these illnesses. [131637]
§ Mr. SpellarThe information required is either not available at all or is not held in the required form. I will write to the hon. Member setting out such information as is available and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.