HC Deb 03 May 2001 vol 367 cc976-8
10. Mr. Jon Trickett (Hemsworth)

If he will make a statement on the progress made by IRISC in the settlement of compensation claims by former miners suffering from vibration white finger and respiratory diseases. [159070]

The Minister for Energy and Competitiveness in Europe (Mr. Peter Hain)

As at 22 April, IRISC, the Department's claims handling agents, have paid out more than £406 million in compensation for respiratory and vibration related disease. It continues to pay more than £1 million a day, and we expect that to rise sharply during the coming months.

Mr. Trickett

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Does he recall that, for 18 years, the Conservative party did nothing for the miners in that respect, while closing the pits in a vindictive attack on mining communities? Is he aware that there are still on-going delays in the settlement of claims? Those delays, which often seem to derive from bureaucratic problems and paper chasing, can often lead to frustration and anger.

Will my hon. Friend continue to press IRISC to settle all claims as quickly as possible, while minimising bureaucracy? Will he consider informing claimants directly of the reasons for the delays, rather than doing so simply through their solicitors? The frustration often arises because the claimants are unaware of the reasons for the delays.

Mr. Hain

I reassure my hon. Friend that we will certainly take his comments on board. The procedure is laid down by the courts, and the claims handling agreement, negotiated thereafter, requires the solicitors to be the main conduit of communication with individual claimants. I pay tribute to the dedicated work that my hon. Friend does on behalf of retired miners, their widows and the working members of the National Union of Mineworkers. In his constituency, they have no better champion. I reassure him that more money will be paid during the next five months than has been paid during the past three years.

The whole compensation scheme is being speeded up. Widows are getting interim payments. We are prioritising the oldest and sickest miners so that they go to the top of the queue. Previously, they could find themselves way down it. We are making sure that all the problems that have beset the scheme are ironed out. It is the biggest compensation scheme in British history. This Labour Government are delivering it, unlike the Tories who denied miners their rights of justice for many years.

Mr. Andrew Robathan (Blaby)

The payment of compensation and individual claims is, of course, complicated. Did the Minister hear the Bishop of Wakefield yesterday saying how disappointed all the people in his diocese were who, after four years of the Labour Government's grandiose promises, expected some delivery but were still waiting?

Mr. Hain

That, coming from a Conservative Member, takes the biscuit. If the bishop wishes, he should by all means speak to me about this. If he had made those comments perhaps a year ago, there would have been a lot of validity in them. We have reformed the system, ironed out the problems and are driving it forward at the rate of more than £1 million a day. In Yorkshire we have paid out £115 million on the miners' compensation scheme. It is accelerating all the time and that figure will double within the next five months. That is a tribute to this Government's absolute commitment to bringing justice to the retired miners and their widows who were denied it for so long by the Tory Government.

Mr. Martin O'Neill (Ochil)

There is a growing understanding in mining communities of the work being done and the scale of the problem. Let us not forget that week by week more and more miners are diagnosed with the condition, so are added to the books and the numbers that have to be dealt with. Many of us remember when the basis of a claim had to be made on a post mortem. Those hypocrites on the other side of the House—[Interruption]—did nothing to help mining communities when they faced these dreadful problems. The scale of the work and the sums involved require—

Mr. Speaker

Order. The hon. Gentleman will wish to withdraw the term "hypocrite". There are no hypocrites in this House.

Mr. O'Neill

I withdraw the direct reference to hypocrites and substitute the word "hypocrisy" in the appropriate context.

Mr. Speaker

Order. I asked the hon. Gentleman to withdraw the word "hypocrite". I ask him to stand up and withdraw that remark.

Mr. O'Neill

I withdraw it, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Hain

My hon. Friend, who represents a coal mining area, is well aware of the anguish during so many years of Tory rule and of the fact that compensation is now being delivered. He makes the important point that 1,000 new claimants join the compensation scheme every week. We are grappling with that pressure as well as delivering on the scheme to existing claimants. In Scotland, we have delivered £28 million so far, and people in coal mining communities there appreciate that.

Mr. Eric Illsley (Barnsley, Central)

As I represent a constituency in the diocese of Wakefield, may I inform my hon. Friend that I am extremely pleased with the Government's delivery both of compensation for respiratory diseases and vibration white finger and on equal value claims? As my hon. Friend knows, one of the problems in relation to vibration white finger is the refusal of RJB Mining to accept liability for certain claims applying to periods of service in the company after privatisation. Can my hon. Friend confirm that the Government, with the solicitors' claims group, are looking into that under the handling agreement, to see whether the problem can be resolved?

Mr. Hain

Yes, we are. My hon. Friend speaks with the authority of an ex-miner. Conservative Members would not recognise a mine if they fell down one. My hon. Friend is absolutely right, whether about equal value claims or about the decision which we recently announced that there will now he no claw-back of benefit deductions from compensation paid out to 99 per cent. of claimants. That is yet another move forward that we have made in recent months.

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