Speeches

Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will increase investment in research on rehabilitation, health and social care models that can improve quality of life for ill Gulf War veterans and their families; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster

The Government greatly values the service of all 1990-91 Gulf War veterans, particularly as we reach the 25th anniversary of the start of combat operations. We have long accepted that the ill health of some veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War is associated with their service in the Gulf. In such cases compensation may be claimed under the War Pensions Scheme with appropriate medical care provided by the National Health Service across the UK .

The Department has funded extensive research into Gulf War illness including some research into rehabilitative therapies for those veterans with persistent symptoms.

Our strategy on research topics and studies has been informed and overseen by independent scientific experts nominated by the Medical Research Council taking account of published peer-reviewed international literature and international studies. We have no plans to undertake further research on Gulf War issues. We continue to monitor any Gulf War research that is published round the world including from the United States.