Service Veterans: Joint Work with US Administration (Hansard, 12 January 2004)

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)

The Governments of the United Kingdom and the United States of America work very closely together on a wide range of veterans' issues. This relationship allows us the opportunity to share the results of research and to discuss many other areas of policy for the potential benefit of current and future veterans.

This relationship is evident at a number of levels. My honourable friend, the Minister for Veterans, recently met the American Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington to discuss common policy interests. He has also met a number of Ministers in other countries who are responsible for veterans' matters. The Senior International Forum (SIF) is an opportunity for senior officials from the US and UK, as well as of the other member countries (Australia, Canada and New Zealand) to work together. Following its second meeting in London in December 2002, the group agreed that closer co-operation on veterans-related research would be led by the US. Other outcomes of the London meeting include the exchange of best practice on service resettlement arrangements and on business innovation in veterans-related support services as well as the creation of closer IT links between veterans' affairs departments. Furthermore, the US and the UK have worked together and kept one another apprised on specific issues surrounding the ill health reported by some veterans of the 1990–91 Gulf conflict in response to veterans' concerns. In support of this, the MoD has provided King's College School of Medicine with data to enable it to conduct an epidemiological study for the US Department of Defense that will look at whether service in the Gulf is associated with increased illness in UK Gulf veterans.