HC Deb 25 July 2000 vol 354 cc518-9W
Mr. Crausby

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many ex-employees of British Coal have(a) made claims and (b) been paid under the Government's scheme for respiratory disease litigation. [131745]

Mrs. Liddell

The Department's claims handlers have registered over 110,000 claims for chronic bronchitis and emphysema from former miners and their families. To date, we have made nearly 23,000 payments in full and final, and part settlements, totalling £65 million.

Mr. Stevenson

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many compensation claims to date there have been by former miners for(a) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (b) vibration white finger in the North Staffordshire Area; and how many have been settled since 1995. [131800]

Mrs. Liddell

The Department's claims handlers have registered 2,679 claims for chronic bronchitis and emphysema and 1,007 claims for Vibration White Finger (VWF) from former miners and their families in the North Staffordshire area. To date, in the North Staffordshire Area, we have made 916 payments in full and final, and part settlements to respiratory disease claimants, and 277 payments to VWF claimants, totalling £3.7 million.

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