§ Mr. Fatchettasked the Paymaster General if he will publish information showing how many people in Leeds metropolitan district council area have had their benefits (a) reduced and (b) withdrawn in connection with the restart scheme.
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§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Paymaster General (1) how many deaths from the following asbestos-related diseases have been notified to the Health and Safety Executive for the years 1984 and 1985 (i) asbestosis together with lung cancer, (ii) asbestosis together with mesothelioma, (iii) asbestosis alone or with other diseases, (iv) mesothelioma of pleura, (v) mesothelioma of peritoneum, (vi) mesothelioma of pleura and peritoneum and (vii) mesothelioma, site not specified;
(2) how many additions to the mesothelioma register maintained by the Health and Safety Executive have been made for the years 1984 and 1985.
§ Mr. TrippierThe numbers of death certificates for 1984 added to the executive's register of specified asbestos-related diseases are as shown in the following table. Figures for 1985 are not yet available.
Deaths from specified asbestos-related diseases in Great Britain: 1984 Number Asbestosis with lung cancer 59 Asbestosis with mesothelioma 81 Asbestosis alone or with other diseases 67 TOTAL ASBESTOSIS1 207 Mesothelioma of pleura 462 Mesothelioma of peritoneum 43 Mesothelioma of pleura and peritoneum 11 Mesothelioma, site not specified 90 TOTAL MESOTHELIOMA1 606 1Both totals include the 81 certificates which mention asbestosis and mesothelioma.
§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Paymaster General if he will give statistics on the prevalence of asbestosis, pneumoconiosis and mesothelioma in each year since 1975.
§ Mr. TrippierThe available information is as follows.
The figures for asbestosis and other pneumoconiosis are based on awards for benefit and those for mesothelioma on death certificates.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeNo one can lose their benefit entitlements solely as a result of the restart programme. Under long-standing legal rules people can lose their entitlement to benefit if they fail to attend an interview, are not available for work or refuse an offer of suitable employment. The information is not available in the precise form asked for. As at 9 October 1986 the number of people invited to a restart interview who had their 57W benefit withdrawn in Leeds Metropolitan District Council area is 105. A further 98 claimants had benefit suspended and then reinstated after going to a restart interview which they had previously failed to attend.
§ Mr. Terry Davisasked the Paymaster General how many suspended claims for unemployment benefit were held at the adjudication office in Birmingham at 31 October or the most recent date for which the statistics are available.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeInformation is not available in the form requested. The number of cases under consideration at the adjudication office in Birmingham on 31 October 1986 was 6,678. It is not possible to say how many of these cases involved suspension of benefit. The adjudication office has always had and will continue to have a number of cases under consideration at any given time as part of our national insurance and supplementary benefit system.
§ Dr. David Clarkasked the Paymaster General if, following the decision of the Social Security Commissioner, Mr. M. J. Goodman, in Southampton on 23 September to allow the payment of unemployment benefit to redundant employees of British Shipbuilders, he will now issue instructions to local offices instructing payments to be made to other persons in a similar position.
§ Mr. LeeNo. The Commissioner's decision allowed an individual claimant's appeal against disallowance of his claim for unemployment benefit. Whether this decision can be applied to claims from other redundant employees of British Shipbuilders is for consideration by the independent adjudicating authorities appointed under the Social Security Act 1975 to make decisions about benefit entitlement. Each case is considered on its merits.