§ Mr. Allen McKayasked the Secretary of State for Energy what guidance he has given to the National Coal Board about payments of redundancy benefit to miners who accepted voluntary redundancy and are not yet in receipt of unemployment pay due to the adjudicating officer's decision that such persons were not entitled to unemployment benefit.
§ Mr. David HuntMy hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security announced on 24 June that legislation was being introduced to maintain the policy that, for the purposes of unemployment benefit, those made redundant 33W should not be regarded as having left voluntarily, even though they may have volunteered or agreed to be dismissed; and that extra-statutory payments would be made to any claimant losing benefit on these grounds before the amendment is introduced.
Entitlement to weekly benefit under the Government's redundant mineworkers payments scheme is linked to eligibility for unemployment benefit. I am therefore arranging that where under these circumstances a man would be entitled to RMPS weekly benefit but for the fact that his payments of unemployment benefit were extra-statutory he will also receive an extra-statutory payment of RMPS weekly benefit.