§ 96. Mr. G. Thomasasked the Minister of National Insurance the position of a workman who has been certified to be disabled from pneumoconiosis or silicosis in regard to the benefits to be operative under the new Industrial Injuries Bill; whether he is providing for cumulation of compensation on the basis of previous assessments for total or partial compensation; whether he is proposing to alter the method of assessing the degree of their disability; and whether any account will be taken of lump-sum settlements or commutations 414W which have taken place before the present law came into force.
§ Mr. J. GriffithsUnder the provisions of the Industrial Injuries Bill, a workman who before the commencement of the new scheme has been certified to be disabled from pneumoconiosis or silicosis, will not be eligible for the benefits of the new scheme in respect of that disability, except that in certain circumstances he may be eligible for an unemployability allowance or a constant attendance allowance. If it should prove possible later on to bring such cases under the new scheme, the terms on which this is to be done would have to be settled in detail, but I am not in a position at present to make any statement with regard to them. I ought to make it clear, however, that cases which have been finally settled could not be brought within such an arrangement.