Miners' Health Claims: Financial Awards (Hansard, 2 March 1999)

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville)
My Lords, the Government have agreed with the plaintiffs' solicitors the tariff of compensation damages and the use of a single medical assessment process. We hope to reach an agreement on the detailed handling arrangements in the next few weeks.
In order to make further interim payments, we have tendered for a national spirometry testing programme which should enable us to begin to make offers in April.
We are aiming to begin the main medical assessment process in the summer.

§ Lord Dormand of Easington
My Lords, I welcome that promising reply from the Minister. Is my noble friend aware that there was recently great satisfaction among former miners at the decision to make generous compensation, as I understand it, to those suffering from vibration white finger? However, is he aware that it is estimated that about 100,000 former miners suffer from bronchitis, emphysema and related chest diseases? Has an estimate been made of the amount of money likely to be available for the payment which he mentions? Will he confirm that compensation has been agreed? That is the interpretation I place on the Answer. Will the Minister ensure that there is rapid payment, and that we do not repeat the disgraceful delay of the past few years?

§ Lord Sainsbury of Turville
My Lords, as I hope I made clear, a tariff has now been agreed with the plaintiffs' solicitors' group. Therefore, that part of the process is now agreed. We still have to deal with exactly how the claims are processed. However, we hope that 1551 we shall be able to do so by the end of the month. The main medical assessment process should begin in the summer. So we are making good progress, although obviously we should like to do so even more quickly.
As regards the total amount of compensation, the figure will be in excess of £1 billion, and it is covered in the Comprehensive Spending Review. There was no figure when we came into government; no liabilities existed. We have a figure of over £1 billion in the Comprehensive Spending Review; and the Government are committed to making certain that the liabilities are covered.

§ Lord McNair
My Lords, will the Minister reassure the House that coalminers who suffer from emphysema and bronchitis resulting from silicosis due to the different geological characteristics of the mines where they worked will be treated in the same way as those suffering from pneumoconiosis?

§ Lord Sainsbury of Turville
My Lords, the settlement announced in January 1998 solely covered chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It does not cover pneumoconiosis; and silicosis, I understand, is also not covered, being more related to pneumoconiosis than chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

§ Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply. In a debate on the issue in the House on 16th November, I drew the attention of your Lordships to the fact that if every miner who had made an application had to go for an individual medical it would take years for them to receive settlement. Bearing in mind that it has been calculated that 10 miners a week die of this dreaded disease, by the time they had all had individual examinations a considerable number would have died.
Will the Minister give further consideration to my suggestion in the previous debate? Could those who have had examinations and been awarded industrial injuries benefits based on those examinations be given immediate compensation without further examination, based on a percentage award of the industrial injuries benefit? That would prevent many of those men having to wait many years, and enable them to receive compensation before they died.

§ Lord Sainsbury of Turville
My Lords, I agree that one of the tragedies of the situation is that people are dying while the process is going on. But we have taken considerable action. We have already paid interim payments to those people who are receiving benefits under the industrial injuries disablement benefit for chronic bronchitis and emphysema. In those cases we know that they suffer from chronic bronchitis and emphysema and have worked underground for 20 years. Therefore we can make interim payments to them.
The people not covered are those suffering from pneumoconiosis. We do not know whether they are suffering from chronic bronchitis and emphysema. We brought forward the special process of the spirometry tests so that we can make interim payments to those people.
1552 In many cases we shall also be able to make full and final payment once we know what the lung function tests show. In those cases we shall do so. But for full compensation in many cases we shall have to await the full medical assessment process. We are doing everything to bring forward that process.

Lord Campbell of Croy
My Lords, can the Minister assure us that every protection from the health hazards which have caused so much distress and suffering in the past is now being given to miners working in the pits?

§ Lord Sainsbury of Turville
My Lords, I can only assure the House that the regulations are being covered. It is no longer the responsibility of the Coal Board but of the individual operators to comply with the regulations.