§ Mr. Lofthouseasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total number of miners who have been certified to have died from pneumoconiosis by a coroner's court, but who have been denied pension rights arising out of the pneumoconiosis panel doctors overriding the coroner's decision.
§ Mrs. ChalkerI regret that the information is not available in the form requested. Claims for industrial death benefit are determined by independent adjudicating authorities who consider all the available evidence on the cause of death. In pneumoconiosis cases this includes the pathologist's report on the post-mortem examination, the statutory death certificate and the opinion of the doctors of the pneumoconiosis medical panel. 91W Separate figures in respect of miners are not maintained but during 1978, when nearly 6,000 examinations were carried out by the panel doctors, 74 claims were disallowed where, on their advice, it was decided that death was not due to pneumoconiosis but where the pathologists had said they considered death was due to the disease. In 16 other cases, claims were allowed on the advice of the panel doctors although the pathologists had said they considered death was not due to pneumoconiosis.
If the hon. Member has a particular case in mind, I shall be pleased to look into it.