§ 97. Mr. Gowerasked the Minister of National Insurance how many people in Wales and Monmouthshire are expected to benefit by his decision to take steps to enable disablement benefit to be paid to those partially-disabled persons hitherto excluded from such benefit; and if he will give the comparable estimated figure for England.
§ 98. Mr. R. Allanasked the Minister of National Insurance whether he will now make a statement of Her Majesty's Government's intentions with regard to men partially disabled by pneumoconiosis who have been unable to obtain compensation.
§ Mr. PeakeAs I informed the House on Thursday my discussions regarding the scheme of benefit for men partially disabled by pneumoconiosis who failed to qualify for compensation have reached a stage when I am satisfied that, given good will and the co-operation of all concerned, a scheme providing a flat rate benefit for these people on the general lines of the existing scheme for total cases would be practicable. I cannot say exactly how many men would benefit under such a scheme but they may be as many as 15,000; of whom I expect about half to be in Wales and one-third in England. I hope before long to complete the preliminary work and thus clear the way for the introduction of the necessary legislation extending the scope of the Pneumoconiosis and Byssinosis Benefit Act, 1951.