Written question asked by Countess of Mar (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Astor of Hever (Conservative) on Wednesday, 30 November 2011.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 16 November (WA 148–9), what information they hold about the reasons why 4,930 Gulf War veterans are in receipt of war pensions; what criteria they are defined by; why they do not know how many suffer from organophosphate (OP) poisoning; and what would be the cost of identifying which Gulf War veterans have OP poisoning.

Answer: The war pensions computer system (WPCS) benefits programme is used to record information regarding war pension scheme (WPS) claims, and awards to be administered and paid. It does not hold specific details relating to the cause of conditions, illnesses, death, or the location of the causal incidents as this information is not required to process the benefit claims. To answer the question tabled would require the department to locate the 4,930 individual war disablement pension files relating to personnel known to have served in Gulf War 1, identify whether these individuals' war pensions were awarded specifically as a result of their service during that campaign, and determine the causal incident of the award. It is estimated that the cost of this exercise would be some £44,000 and therefore, could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 13629; 733 c67WA
Session: 2010-12
Related items: Armed Forces: Pensions
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Written questions
House of Lords; Armed Forces: Sickness Records
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects: Iraq-Kuwait conflict Poisoning War pensions Organophosphates Veterans
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk