§ Paul FarrellyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, when her Department and the Claimant Solicitor's Steering Group expect to agree a dust figure for the occupation of Strata Engineer in respect of relevant mining compensation claims. [78507]
§ Mr. WilsonDust factors for jobs not explicitly covered in the Claims Handling Agreement (CHA), like that of Strata Engineer, are decided by the Dust Reference Panel, experts who are jointly instructed by the DTI and the Solicitors' Co-ordinating Group (CG).
The Department's claims handlers, IRISC, have only one claim that is currently outstanding for a Strata Engineer. This case will become the subject of an individual referral to the Dust Reference Panel (DRP).
The DRP are currently working with the Department and the Solicitors' Co-ordinating Group to produce guidance that will aid the referral of individual cases to the DRP. This will be issued shortly and individual cases can then he referred when the claimants' solicitor arid IRISC have assembled the necessary evidence, in accordance with the guidance.