§ Mr. Alfred MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people suffering from occupational deafness and asthma, whose cases were affected by the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of Mr. Frank McKiernon, have benefited or will benefit from the decision; how many such people will have lost their entitlement in consequence of the action he took retrospectively to change the law; and what is the estimated total saving to his Department from the action he took.
§ Mr. ScottInformation on those who have benefited from the Court of Appeal decision is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The intention of the legislation in schedule 6 paragraph 4 of the Social Security Act 1990 is that any entitlements conditional upon the court's judgment should be discontinued once the Act is in force. Were it not for this legislation, it is estimated that a trawl of past cases might have increased benefit expenditure by up to £100 million.