Vibration White Finger

HC Deb 13 January 1999 vol 323 cc204-5W

Mr. Clapham

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will state(a) what has been the cost to date, including the legal costs, of devising a compensation scheme for miners suffering from vibration white finger, (b) when he expects a scheme to be operative and (c) what is the number of cases currently informally lodged with solicitors. [64699]

Mr. Battle

[holding answer 11 January 1999]: (a) Since the judgment was handed down in September 1997 some £1.1 million has been incurred by Departmental advisers, including principally Counsel, external solicitors and medical experts. The costs of DTI staff and of staff working for IRISC, the Department's claim handler, on this work cannot be separately identified.

(b) Significant progress has been made in the last few weeks in negotiating a scheme for compensating ex-miners with Vibration White Finger. I am optimistic that an agreement will be reached shortly. We began piloting the single medical assessment process at our testing centre in Sheffield on 1 December and, once final agreement is reached, would hope to extend it nationally by the spring.

(c) As at 1 January some 31,000 claims have been received by IRISC, the Department's claim handlers. We do not know how many further claims may be lodged with claimants' solicitors.