HC Deb 22 January 2002 vol 378 cc736-9W
Mr. Woodward

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many former miners' compensation claims have been registered in(a) St. Helens, South constituency, (b) St. Helens metropolitan authority area and (c) Merseyside in relation to (i) vibration white finger and (ii) respiratory diseases. [28700]

Ms Hewitt

[holding answer 21 January 2002]: IRISC, the Department's claims handlers, have registered claims in the regions as follows:

Number
(i) Vibration white finger (VWF) (ii) Respiratory disease
(a) St. Helens, South1 439 759
(b) St. Helens metropolitan authority2 901 1,605
(c) Merseyside3 1,435 2,672
1 St. Helens, South as defined by the area with postcode prefixes: L 34, 35; WA 9, 10.
2 St. Helens metropolitan authority as defined by the area with postcode prefixes: WA 8-12; L 34-35.
3 Merseyside as defined by the area with postcode prefixes: CH 48-49, 60-63; L 3, 9-10, 12, 14, 16-26, 34-38; PR 8-9, WA 8-12, WN 4-5

Mr. Woodward

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many respiratory specialists in(a) Merseyside, (b) the north-west and (c) England were working on the Medical Assessment Process for compensating former miners at (i) 1 January 2001 and (ii) 1 January 2002. [28699]

Mr. Wilson

[holding answer 21 January 2002]: As at 1 January 2001, there were 104 respiratory specialists working on the Medical Assessment Process (MAP) living and/or working in England as a whole, of which 10 were working in the north-west region, but none working in Merseyside.

As at 1 January 2002, there were 155 respiratory specialists working on the MAP living and/or working in England as a whole, of which 19 were working in the north-west region, but none are working in Merseyside.

Type of interim Eligibility
PD D12 A £2,000 interim is made to claimants in receipt of the Industrial injuries benefit for chronic bronchitis and emphysema
Widows' interim 1 Widows who receive a bereavement award, and have not received any other payment, are entitled to a further interim payment of £2,000
Widows' interim 2 Widows who are not in receipt of a bereavement award, although one of the eight qualifying descriptors is cited on her late husband's death certificate but was not found to cause or materially contribute to the death, and have not received any other payment, are entitled to an interim payment of £1,000

The variable interims are:

  1. 1. Bereavement awards.
  2. 2. Expedited interims—where an expedited offer has been made, but rejected by the claimant, a proportion of the offer is forwarded while the claimant proceeds the full Medical Assessment Process, MAP.
  3. 3. Post MAP interims—where a claimant has attended a MAP appointment and for whom the work history has been agreed, but the Department is unable to settle the claim, an interim is made.

Claims for compensation for respiratory disease can be settled by either an expedited payment following spirometry testing or a full and final offer following MAP.

North-west centres are defined as: Wigan, Wrexham and Manchester.

Mr. Woodward

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many compensation claims by former miners living in(a) St. Helens, South and (b) St. Helens metropolitan authority (i) have yet to be settled and (ii) have been paid their final sum. [28698]

Ms Hewitt

[holding answer 21 January 2002]: To date, the number of claimants who have not settled their claims or received an offer of compensation, and the number of settled claims is as follows:

St. Helens, South1 St. Helens metropolitan authority2
Respiratory disease
Number of unsettled claims which have not received offers 728 1,518
Number of settled claims 16 31
Number of offers outstanding with solicitors 15 56
Vibration White Finger
Number of unsettled claims which have not received offers 256 521
Number of settled claims 134 255
Number of offers outstanding with solicitors 49 125
1 St. Helens, South as defined by the area with postcode prefixes: L 34, 35; WA 9, 10
2 St. Helens metropolitan authority as defined by the area with postcode prefixes: WA 8-12; L 34-35

Mr. Woodward

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average(a) interim and (b) final payment amount is for (i) Vibration White Finger and (ii) respiratory diseases to former coal miners in (A) St. Helens, South, (B) Merseyside and (C) England. [28706]

Ms Hewitt

There are six different types of interim payments that may be made to claimants for compensation for respiratory disease, subject to conditions. Of these, three are of fixed amounts and are listed as follows:

The average interim and full and final figure for the above regions are as follows:

£
Respiratory disease St. Helens, South Merseyside England
Interim payments
Average bereavement award 7,609 8,322 8,210
Average expedited interim n/a n/a 2,862
MAP interim 5,168 4,119 4,024
Full and final offers
Average expedited settlement n/a 6,467 5,323
Average full and final
settlement following MAP 1,351 1,767 2,380

There are four different interims in respect of Vibration White Finger (VWF) claims as listed:

  1. 1. Standard £1,000
  2. 2. General damages
  3. 3. Anniversary
  4. 4. Services.

The average interim and full and final figure for the above regions are as follows:

Vibration White Finger St. Helens, South Merseyside England
Average interim payment 4,562 4,523 5,776
Average full and final payment 7,178 7,348 8,048

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