asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Statement by Lord Drayson on 16 July (WS 4), which referred to a “continued commitment to investigate Gulf War veterans’ illnesses openly and honestly”, what recent investigations they have carried out into morbidity among veterans of the conflict; and what records of morbidity they have kept and updated. [HL5242]

The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Drayson): Mortality statistics are a key indicator of health in a population, as recognised by the World Health Organisation. The continued monitoring of Gulf veterans' mortality, as detailed in my Written Statement of 16 July 2007 in the Official Report (WS 4), therefore provides a level of ongoing health monitoring. The latest statistics and the methods that are used to complete them are available on the internet at www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/gulf/intro.html

The MoD does not have access to medical or other health records of Gulf veterans who have left the Armed Forces. Routine monitoring of the health of these veterans is therefore not possible. The only illness for which central records are kept is cancer.

Nevertheless, the MoD remains committed to investigating Gulf War veterans' illnesses openly and honestly. Cancer registration data for the UK Gulf veterans and the Era comparison group are held by the Defence Analytical Services Agency. In 2003, the data were forwarded to Professor Gary Macfarlane, then of the University of Manchester, for analysis and publication in the peer-reviewed medical literature (Macfarlane et al (2003), “Incidence of Cancer among UK Gulf Veterans: Cohort study”, British Medical Journal 327, December 1373-76).

The medical assessment programme, based at St Thomas's Hospital in London, also continues to investigate the health concerns of those who served in the Gulf, or who believe that their health has suffered as a direct result of the Gulf conflict. The overall findings of these investigations are detailed in a number of publications but did not reveal any medically unexplained conditions.

A follow-up to the Gulf health research first published by Professor Simon Wessely of King's College, London, in January 1999 was sponsored by the MoD and published in the British Medical Journal in December 2003. The study found that, at follow up, Gulf veterans continued to report poorer health than other military personnel, but the overall health gap had narrowed slightly.