§ Mr. Lomasasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if she will introduce provisions for appeals against the decision of the Pneumoconiosis Medical Board.
§ Miss HerbisonThere is a right of appeal to a Medical Appeal Tribunal from a decision of a Pneumoconiosis Medical Board on the assessment of the degree of disablement and from a decision of the Tribunal to the Industrial Injuries Commissioner on a point of law. There is at present no appeal from a decision of the Board on the diagnosis question, that is, on whether a claimant 125W is suffering from the prescribed disease. As my hon. Friend will be aware, this is a complex and difficult matter to which much thought has been given over the years; I am considering it, but I am not yet in a position to make a statement.