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District Plans (Police Authority Objections)

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what statutory authority police authorities may object to local authorities' unitary district plan proposals; and if he will list the occasions on which this has occurred in each of the last five years. [75939]

Mr. Raynsford: I have been asked to reply.

Police authorities, like any other individual, body or organisation, can object to a unitary development plan during the statutory periods set out in the Town and Country Planning (Development Plans) Regulations 1991. Information on organisations making objections is not collected centrally.

2001 Census

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received calling for the inclusion of additional categories in the 2001 census to identify (a) race and (b) ethnic origin. [74630]

Ms Hewitt: I have been asked to reply.

The Office for National Statistics, along with the other two UK Census Offices, has conducted a lengthy programme of consultation with all user communities on their requirements for questions to be considered in the

15 Mar 1999 : Column: 501

2001 Census. This consultation process culminated in the submission by users of business cases setting out the uses and values of Census information for each particular topic. Ministers have now considered the case for a revised ethnic group question in the 2001 Census, and the Government's proposals were published in a White Paper on 4 March [Cm 4253].

During the period of consultation, a total of 154 representations calling for the inclusion of additional categories in the 2001 Census to identify ethnic origin have been received as follows:


Live Animal Imports

Mr. Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there were for breaches of the law in respect of live animal imports for each year from 1990 to the latest year for which figures are available. [75846]

Mr. Rooker: I have been asked to reply.

Statistics concerning the number of prosecutions for breach of the law in respect of live animal imports are as follows:

Number of prosecutions for breaches of the law in respect of live animal imports into Great Britain

YearNumber
199060
199199
199273
199358
199479
199571
199671
199754
199850

DEFENCE

Gulf War Veterans

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many Gulf War veterans have died since the end of the war in 1991; [62958]

Mr. Doug Henderson [holding answer 9 December 1998]: The Ministry of Defence has identified 53,462 members of the UK armed forces who were deployed on Operation GRANBY or to a state in the Gulf region at some time between 1 September 1990 and 30 June 1991. As at 5 March 1999, 381 of these individuals were recorded by the MOD as having died since 1 April 1991, of which 254 were regular personnel recorded as having died whilst still serving in the armed forces. Information received by the MOD in respect of a further 17 Gulf veterans who have been reported as having died is currently in the process of being verified.

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Territorial Army

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the cost of moving a non-infantry TA battalion HQ from South to North Wales. [68478]

Mr. Doug Henderson [holding answer 1 February 1999]: No assessment has been made of the cost of transferring a non-infantry TA Regimental Headquarters from South to North Wales. There are no non-infantry TA Battalion Headquarters in the South of Wales.

Compensation

Mr. Corbett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to publish a consultation document following the review of arrangements for compensating service personnel and their dependants injured or killed during service. [72250]

Mr. Doug Henderson [holding answer 22 February 1999]: The joint MOD/DSS review of compensation arrangements for service personnel has proved more complicated than expected and therefore taken longer than we originally planned. We are, however, pressing ahead with the work and we hope to publish a consultation document around the middle of the year.

Defence Agencies (Targets)

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to set targets for the (a) Army Training and Recruiting Agency, (b) Defence Bills Agency, (c) Defence Evaluation and Research Agency and (d) Army Base Repair Organisation for the year 1999-2000. [71943]

Mr. Doug Henderson [holding answer 25 February 1999]: We expect to set Key Targets for these four agencies by the end of April 1999.

Air Miles

Mr. Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many air miles have been earned by him and each of his ministers; and how he proposes to use them. [73332]

Mr. Spellar: The Government's policy on the use and disposal of air miles was set out by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 12 January 1999, Official Report, column 141.

Detailed information on any air miles earned by Ministers as a result of official travel is not recorded centrally.

Depleted Uranium

Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what continuing research is in progress on depleted uranium under the medical assessment programme; [74718]

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Mr. Doug Henderson: The primary purpose of the Gulf veterans' Medical Assessment Programme (MAP) is to investigate the medical complaints of UK Gulf War veterans and, so far as possible, to diagnose what they are suffering from and recommend appropriate treatment, or provide reassurance if no illness is found.

When the MAP was first established in 1993, its first Head, Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Bill Coker, initially carried out those tests he felt necessary on clinical grounds to establish a diagnosis. When the number of patients referred to the MAP increased, he carried out a number of screening tests, similar to those then used by the US Department of Defense's Comprehensive Clinical Evaluation Programme (CCEP), which is broadly equivalent to the MAP. These screening tests did not include a test to detect the presence of uranium because Group Captain Coker had not previously seen any features in patients to indicate that such testing was clinically necessary. The US experience had suggested that the urinary excretion of uranium was only significantly increased in those veterans with retained fragments of depleted uranium (DU). As MOD was not aware of any UK Service personnel who had sustained shrapnel injuries from DU-based ammunition, it was not thought necessary to screen routinely for uranium excretion, although testing could be carried out on a case by case basis if clinically indicated. Any other tests considered clinically appropriate would also be performed, these additional tests varying from patient to patient. This system of investigation was in place at the time of the Royal College of Physicians' (RCP) clinical audit in 1995.

The RCP's subsequent report, published in July 1995, endorsed the MAP's professional independence and integrity and made specific comments on how the Programme could be improved. However, with the exception of a recommendation concerning psychiatric assessments, the RCP did not recommend any changes to the tests and examinations carried out by the MAP.

The baseline tests currently carried out on MAP patients by St. Thomas's Hospital on the MAP's behalf are very similar to those which were in place at the time of the RCP audit in 1995. They are as follows:



    Full biochemical screen, including renal function tests (urea, electrolytes and creatinine), liver function tests (LFT), calcium and blood sugar


    Immunoglobulin analysis


    Creatine kinase


    Thyroid function tests (TFT)


    Serological screening tests


    Chest X-ray (CXR)


    Ultrasound abdominal scan


    Electrocardiogram (ECG)


    Urinalysis


    Peak-flow lung measurement (to determine the necessity for vitalography)

A management audit of the MAP has recently been conducted, looking at all aspects of patient care and the service provided by the Programme. A final report is in preparation and MOD expects to receive this shortly. We

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intend that this will be made public in due course. This work will then be followed by a clinical audit which will include a review of the range of tests and examinations currently undertaken at the MAP.

The tests listed are the baseline investigations at the MAP; additional investigations and/or referrals to other consultants/specialists are sometimes required for particular patients. As part of this, any tests which are considered clinically appropriate by the examining MAP physician, which could include those to detect the presence of uranium, are arranged. However, MAP physicians have not so far considered it clinically necessary to conduct tests on any MAP patients to detect the presence of uranium.

Contrary to some recent media reports, the MOD is not conducting testing in relation to the possible exposure of Gulf veterans to DU, secret or otherwise.

On 16 December 1998, Official Report, columns 520-22, I announced that I had asked my officials to collate the information which the Department possesses concerning mechanisms which could be used to test for the presence of uranium in the human body. I expect to publish the results of this work shortly and will make arrangements for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.

The MAP is not a research programme and it is not involved in any research concerning DU. Although the Ministry of Defence is funding a range of studies into aspects of Gulf veterans' illnesses, none of these are specifically aimed at investigating the relationship between possible exposure to DU and the illnesses being experienced by some Gulf veterans.

The Ministry of Defence is well aware that a link has been suggested between DU exposure and Gulf veterans' illnesses. However, this is only one of a number of factors which have been suggested as causes of Gulf veterans' illnesses and, pending further medical and scientific evidence, MOD is keeping an open mind on this issue. MOD would be very interested to see any new relevant information on this subject.


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