§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals she has to improve the quality of diagnosis and certification of deaths involving asbestos-related diseases. [17078]
§ Mr. SackvilleDiagnosis is a professional issue and we would look primarily to the health care professions to provide guidance on it.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what are her current assumptions about the levels of asbestos-related deaths in the United Kingdom. [17080]
§ Mr. SackvilleThe recorded numbers of deaths from asbestos-related diseases continue to grow. Such diseases are nearly always the result of occupational exposure to asbestos fibres, and are prescribed as industrial diseases. Asbestos-related diseases generally take a long time to develop. The deaths now occurring, and most of those expected to occur in the future, reflect past industrial exposure before the introduction of the controls whose enforcement is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.