§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, in view of the potential conflict of interests involved, he will take steps to prevent the practice, in regard to persons who may have died as a result of lung cancer and asbestosis, of information being shared between his Department's medical panel and an asbestos company concerned, even though the latter may be involved in a legal claim over liability.
§ Mr. RossiIt is in the best interests of claimants making claims under the industrial injuries scheme that pneumoconiosis medical panels should have access to all the relevant medical information relating to individual cases. The panels' task is facilitated by passing information, on a doctor to doctor basis between the medical panels and the medical departments of employers. Instructions provide that panels do not pass medical information relating to individuals without the consent of the person concerned or, in a case where death has occurred, his next of kin.