§ Mr. Tileyasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he will make a statement about the results of the consideration he undertook to give to the possibility of further provision for workmen's compensation old cases being dealt with out of the Industrial Injuries Fund.
§ Mr. N. MacphersonYes. I have now completed the review which I undertook to make of this difficult problem. It is proposed to double the present allowance of 32s. 6d. payable under the Workmen's Compensation and Benefit (Supplementation) Act, 1956, to the totally disabled old cases so as to bring the allowance together with maximum compensation for a married man up to the same level as the new 100 per cent. rate of industrial injuries disablement pension.
232WThe flat-rate allowances payable under the Industrial Diseases (Benefit) Act 1954 to certain men (chiefly pneumoconiotics) who were time-barred for compensation because of the slowness with which their disability manifested itself will in effect be increased by 32s. 6d. in the case of those totally disabled and by 15s. for those partially disabled.
The ceiling on the supplementary allowances payable under the Workmen's Compensation (Supplementation) Act 1951 (as amended) to the partially disabled man on the maximum rate of compensation will be increased by 20s. The allowances will, of course, be subject to the normal workmen's compensation loss of earnings rules.
The cost of the proposals to the Industrial Injuries Fund is estimated as rather more than £¾ million in the first full year. The Government hope that it will be possible to make the necessary provisions to give effect to these changes in the Bill which is now before Parliament. If so the increased allowances would be payable from the same dates as the increased rates of industrial injuries disablement benefits.