HC Deb 20 July 2001 vol 372 cc598-9W
Angus Robertson

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will provide a breakdown by constituency of the number of(a) successful and (b) unsuccessful claims by former Icelandic waters trawlermen; and if she will make a statement. [5705]

Nigel Griffiths

Following are the number of compensation payments for each port at 13 July 2001. At the same date the total number of claims identified as unsuccessful was 3,344. I regret that there is not a breakdown of unsuccessful claims of figures for constituencies.

Compensation payments made to claimants
Number
Hull 854
Grimsby 216
Fleetwood 174
Blackpool 27
Cleethorpes 55
Newcastle 153
West Yorkshire 88
Aberdeen 19
Others 149
Total 1,735

All claims received have now been scrutinised and entered into the special computer system established to administer the scheme. Claims still undecided comprise categories subject to representations and those where further information is awaited, mainly from claimants themselves.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many fishermen have received compensation from the Government's compensation scheme for former Icelandic trawlermen; how much money has been paid out; what the average payment was; how many claims are still outstanding; how many successful claimants went inshore mackerel fishing after fishing in Icelandic waters; how many of the claims outstanding are those where the fishermen went inshore mackerel fishing after fishing in Icelandic waters; and what estimate she has made of the time when all the claims will have been concluded. [5190]

Nigel Griffiths

At 13 July 2001, 1,735 former Icelandic water trawlermen or their families had received compensation under the scheme. The total compensation paid is £18,846,765, an average of £10,863 per claim. There are no statistics about claimants who went mackerel fishing. All claims received have now been scrutinised and entered into the computer system established for the scheme. Letters to unsuccessful applicants who have not yet been notified will be despatched within the next few days. There are 2,996 claims which cannot be decided at present, mainly because they are awaiting a decision on representations about those who continued fishing on former Icelandic water trawlers after 1979 or because further information is awaited from the applicants themselves.

Angus Robertson

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information she has requested from Icelandic authorities to verify claims for compensation made by UK former Icelandic water trawlermen; and if she will make a statement. [5706]

Nigel Griffiths

The Icelandic authorities provided a list of fishing vessels permitted under certain conditions to fish within defined Icelandic waters from June 1976 to December 1976. The Department has checked a range of sources of information to identify Icelandic water trawlers.

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