HC Deb 28 June 1994 vol 245 cc524-6W
Mr. Pike

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the time limit on claims for industrial deafness.

Mr. Scott

A claim for benefit in respect of occupational deafness must be made within five years of leaving a prescribed occupation.

Mr. Pike

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the differences in treatment of industrial deafness claims and war deafness claims; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Scott

The qualifying conditions and benefit rates for the two schemes are as follows:

Industrial Injuries Benefit Industrial injuries benefits may be paid in respect of occupational deafness where the claimant:

  1. (a) is assessed as at least 20 per cent. disabled as a result of sensorineural hearing loss of at least 50 decibels in both ears, being due in the case of at least one ear to noise at work;
  2. (b) has worked in one or more of the nine occupations prescribed in relation to occupational deafness;
  3. (c) has done such work for an aggregate period of at least ten years; and
  4. (d) if no longer doing such work, claims benefit within five years of last doing so.

Where these conditions are satisfied, deafness is presumed to be due to employment.

War Pensions Under the War Pensions scheme, benefit may be paid for disablement due to hearing loss which is attributable to, or aggrevated by, service in the armed forces. For sensorineural hearing loss, the claimant must be assessed as 20 per cent. disabled as a result of hearing loss of at least 50 decibles in both ears. For conductive hearing loss, the claimant must be assessed as at least 1 per cent. disabled. Doctors determine which type of deafness applies in each case. There are no time limits for claiming under the War Pensions scheme, and no presumption of cause, but for claims arising within seven years of the termination of service, the onus is on my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the disablement is not due to a service factor. For claims arising more than seven years after the termination of service, the onus is on the claimant to show that disablement is due to service.

Benefit Rates Weekly benefit rates are higher under the War Pensions scheme than under the Industrial Injuries scheme. The benefit rates for 1994–95 are:

Degree of disablement War pension (£) Industrial Injuries disablement benefit (£)
100 98.90 93.20
90 89.01 83.88
80 79.12 74.56
70 69.23 65.24
60 59.34 55.92
50 49.45 46.60
40 39.56 37.28
30 29.67 27.96
20 19.78 18.64

Under the War Pensions scheme, benefit in respect of disablement due to conductive hearing loss assessed at less than 20 per cent. is paid as a lump sum gratuity.

Mr. Pike

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what industries workers or former workers are eligible for consideration for industrial deafness.

Mr. Scott

Occupational deafness is prescribed for disablement benefit purposes in relation to the following occupational activities:

  1. 1. The use of powered (but not hand powered) grinding tools on cast metal (other than weld metal) or on billets or blooms in the metal producing industry, or work wholly or mainly in the immediate vicinity of those tools whilst they are being so used;
  2. 2. The use of pneumatic percussive tools on metal, or work wholly or mainly in the immediate vicinity of those tools whilst they are being so used;
  3. 3. The use of pneumatic percussive tools for drilling rock in quarries or underground or in mining coal, or work wholly or mainly in the immediate vicinity of those tools whilst they are being so used;
  4. 4. Work wholly or mainly in the immediate vicinity of plant (excluding power press plant) engaged in the forging (including drop stamping) of metal by means of closed or open dies or drop hammers;
  5. 5. Work in textile manufacturing where the work is undertaken wholly or mainly in rooms or sheds in which there are machines engaged in weaving man-made or natural (including mineral) fibres or in the high speed false twisting of fibres;
  6. 6. The use of, or work wholly or mainly in the immediate vicinity of, machines engaged in cutting, shaping or cleaning metal nails;
  7. 7. The use of, or work wholly or mainly in the immediate vicinity of, plasma spray guns engaged in the deposition of metal;
  8. 8. The use of, or work wholly or mainly in the immediate vicinity of, any of the following machines engaged in the working of wood or material composed partly of wood, that is to say; multi cutter moulding machines, planing machines, automatic or semi-automatic lathes, multiple cross-cut machines, automatic shaping machines, double-end tenoning machines, verticle spindle moulding machines (including high speed routing machines), edge banding machines, bandsawing machines with a blade width of not less than 75 millimetres and circular sawing machines in the operation of which the blade is moved towards the material being cut;
  9. 9. The use of chain saws in forestry.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Mrs. Knight) on 24 February, Official Report, column 368, which sets out the further activities to be added to the list of prescribed occupations from October 1994.

Mr. Pike

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many representations he has received on industrial deafness in the last 12 months.

Mr. Scott

In the last 12 months a total of 25 letters from members of the public and hon. Members have been received concerning various aspects of benefits in respect of industrial deafness.