§ Ian LucasTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was paid by the Government from January to December 2001 in Wrexham for respiratory disease, pursuant to the miners' compensation scheme for(a) damages to claimants and (b) legal costs for claimants' lawyers. [33530]
§ Mr. WilsonAs at the end of January 2002 the Department has paid nearly £252 million in respiratory disease compensation. In the Wrexham constituency, as at the end of December, £744,000 had been paid. A breakdown for the period January to December 2001 is not available in the time requested, as constituency figures have been available only since the end of October 2001.
With regard to legal costs, the Department has paid £45 million to solicitors in relation to processing claims for respiratory disease. A breakdown for Wrexham and for the period January to December 2001 is not available in the time requested.
§ Mr. BarronTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been paid to date to each firm of solicitors involved in the compensation claims for(a) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (b) vibration white finger of former coalminers. [33667]
§ Mr. WilsonIn total there are some 300-plus firms of solicitors currently processing claims under either/or both schemes. The Department is not able to provide a breakdown by every firm of solicitors in the time available. However, detailed in the table are breakdowns of the costs paid (excluding generic trial costs) to the top 10 claims handlers under both schemes.
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Chronic bronchitis and emphysema £ million Claims handler in order based on total claims intimated Costs paid (excluding generic trial costs) Thompsons 9.8 Hugh James Ford Simey 6.9 Union of Democratic Mineworkers 2.8 Raleys 4.2 Mark Gilbert Morse 0.5 Browell Smith & Co. 3.1 Graysons 2.1 Watson Burton 1.4 Irwin Mitchell 2.0 Randell Saunders 0.4
Vibration white finger £ million Claims handler in order based on total claims intimated Costs paid (excluding generic trial costs) Thompsons 5.7 Browell Smith & Co. 4.0 Union of Democratic Mineworkers 3.6 Raleys 3.0 Hugh James Ford Simey 3.0 Graysons 2.0 Moss 1.4 Watson Burton 1.9 AMS Law 1.0 Towells 1.3
§ Mr. BarronTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been paid out to former coalminers to date, in each region, as compensation for(a) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (b) vibration white finger; and if she will make a statement. [33661]
§ Mr. WilsonI refer my hon. Friend to the Department's Coal Health Claims website—www.dti.gov.uk/coalhealth—where a breakdown of headline statistics by region, and by constituency can be found.
Since the beginning of November last year we have seen a significant increase in the numbers of full and final offers being made for respiratory disease claims. We have now paid out nearly £710 million in compensation across both schemes.
§ Mr. BarronTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much to date has been paid to lawyers who are handling claims for former coalminers under the(a) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (b) vibration white finger compensation claims for unsuccessful cases. [33668]
§ Mr. WilsonThe Department does not pay solicitors costs in relation to unsuccessful claims, apart from a small customer care fee for claims registered prior to the signing of the Claims Handling Agreement on 24 September 1999.
§ Mr. BarronTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how long on average it took to process a claim for compensation on behalf of coalminers suffering from(a) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (b) vibration white finger, by region, in the last 12 months. [33669]
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§ Mr. WilsonIn the time available the Department is not able to provide a breakdown of average processing times by region over the last 12 months.
However, in respect of respiratory disease, the average time nationally between medical assessment and date of offer in the last six months is five months and 14 days. With regard to vibration white finger, VWF, the average duration between medical assessment and date of offer in the last six months is six months and five days.
§ Mr. BarronTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the average length of time taken to process a claim for compensation on behalf of coalminers suffering from(a) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (b) vibration white finger, by each firm of solicitors, in the last 12 months. [33662]
§ Mr. WilsonA breakdown of time taken by solicitors to process claims is not available in the time requested.