§ Mr. TrickettTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial controls have been put in place by his Department regulating the flow of payments of compensation to former miners suffering from respiratory disease. [92063]
§ Mr. BattleSince assuming the former British Coal's health liabilities in January 1998 the Government have made clear that they will provide the funds necessary to meet the cost of legitimate claims. Financial structures562W will be put in place to ensure that the funds are properly disbursed. Claims will be settled as rapidly and as fairly as possible within this framework.
§ Mr. TrickettTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of those ex-miners receiving compensation for respiratory diseases are having their cases settled under the expedited payment system; and what proportion are receiving payments under the system by which compensation is reduced due to other factors. [92062]
§ Mr. BattleTo date Healthcall—the service provider—has carried out some 3,300 spirometry tests. Of these, we have processed 1,793 and offers of expedited payments have been made to 500 of these. The number actually receiving payments will depend on how many claimants accept the offers.
§ Mr. TrickettTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the total number of recipients of compensation for former miners suffering from respiratory diseases; how many cases have been(a) settled and (b) paid; what is the average number of cases settled each week; and what steps he is taking to speed up the processing of claims. [92099]
§ Mr. BattleThe Department have received some 77,000 claims from former miners, and their dependants, for compensation for respiratory diseases. We anticipate receiving in excess of 100,000 in total. The Department is unable to estimate how many of these claimants will receive compensation until they have all passed through the procedures contained in the handling arrangements which are still to be finally agreed with those representing the claimants. Pending the signing of the handling arrangement, full and final settlements have so far been made to the seven lead cases decided by the court. In addition the Department has made offers of interim payments and bereavement awards to 13,700 claimants, totalling some £31 million.
A contract for a national programme of spirometry testing for all respiratory disease claimants has been awarded and testing centres are being established in coalmining areas. This will enable us to make further interim payments and, in some cases, full and final offers to those who may not wish to pursue their claim further. We are also tendering for the delivery of the national medical assessment process and we hope to make the first full and final settlement offers later this year.
§ Mr. TrickettTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many widows of deceased miners are currently awaiting interim payments for the Respiratory Disease Litigation Scheme; how many such widows have already received payments; how many are being paid each month; and what factors underlie the current backlog. [92064]
§ Mr. BattleWe have made some 500 interim payments in the form of bereavement awards, totalling nearly £4.3 million over the last six months. A further 1,600 claims, accompanied by valid death certificates supporting the claims, have been received but require validation of the deceased's work history. The procedure for carrying out this validation has been agreed only very recently with the plaintiff solicitors. We are now processing these outstanding claims as a matter of urgency.