§ Mr. ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many claims relating to alleged ionising radiation exposure at the workplace have been received by his Department from past civilian employees at Chatham Dockyard since it became a nuclear refit facility; and how many of these claimants have received compensation other than as a result of a common law claim. [17430]
§ Mr. SpellarChatham Dockyard became an approved nuclear submarine refit facility in 1966.
It is not possible to report how many claims relating to former Chatham Dockyard workers have been received by my Department since 1966 because this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, such information has been held centrally since 23 October 1986 and my Department's records show that forty claims for compensation for illness allegedly caused by exposure to ionising radiation relating to former Ministry of Defence civilian employees who worked at Chatham Dockyard have been received.
On 27 July 1994, the Ministry of Defence joined the British Nuclear Fuels Compensation Scheme for Radiation Linked Diseases. Membership of the Scheme covers past and present radiation workers including those at the Royal Dockyards before contractorisation in 1987. Thirty-two claims have been submitted to the Scheme of which seven have been rejected as ineligible, and twenty-five are under consideration. Prior to July 1994, all claims for alleged exposure to ionising radiation from civilian employees were considered on the basis of whether or not the Department had a legal liability to pay compensation. One of the eight claims received prior to July 1994 resulted in damages being awarded by the High Court; the remaining seven claims were not pursued. Therefore, none of the claimants has to date received compensation other than as a result of a common law claim.