§ Mr. Lofthouseasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what research, if any, is taking place to ascertain whether or not pneumoconiosis is a contributory factor to emphysema.
§ Mr. Orme:My Department has not commissioned any research with that specific objective, but I understand from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science that work by the Medical Research Council, which includes long-term follow-up studies on the health of mining communities, could provide relevant information.
The possibility of a connection between these two diseases is one of the subjects of discussion and recommendation in a report entitled"Coalworkers' Pneumoconiosis, Emphysema and Bronchitis ", a copy of which I have recently received from the National Union of Mineworkers and which is being closely studied.