§ Lord Hardy of Wathasked Her Majesty's Government:
What costs have been incurred by British Coal, by its successor and by Her Majesty's Government with regard to the defence against the claims made by or on the behalf of former mineworkers in those cases recently heard by the courts. [HL323]
§ The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Clinton-Davis)The total costs incurred to date by British Coal and the Government on defending the British Coal respiratory disease litigation is approximately £10 million. This is almost entirely British Coal expenditure as the liability transferred from British Coal to the Department of Trade and Industry on 1 January 1998.