§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will amend the appropriate regulations so that an employee only has to prove reasonable exposure to radiation in order to claim industrial injury benefit if he contracts leukaemia or another related illness;
(2) if he will publish details of the qualifying conditions for payment of industrial injury or industrial death benefit for those workers who contact leukaemia or other related illnesses as a result of exposure to radiation at their place of work as at present exist in the United Kingdom, France, West Germany, Japan and the United States of America.
§ Mr. PrenticeWorkers who contract diseases—including leukaemia—due to electromagnetic radiations—other than radiant heat—or to ionising particles are covered by disease number 25 in the schedule of diseases prescribed for industrial injuries purposes. I have no plans at present to alter these provisions, nor have I had any discussions about amending them. However, the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council is considering the terms of prescription of PD 25 as part of its current review of the schedule of prescribed diseases and I shall consider any recommendations by the council most carefully. Information about the qualifying conditions for payment of industrial injuries or industrial death benefit to workers who contract leukaemia or 233W other related illnesses as a result of occupational exposure to radiation in Japan and the United States of America is not readily available. Information about the relevant provisions in France and West Germany is held, but as these are lengthy and detailed I shall write to the hon. Member.