§ Lord Lofthouse of Pontefractasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will provide a full breakdown of their costs and expenses in connection with miners' respiratory claims, since Mr Justice Turner's judgment of January 1998, particularised between 26WA administrative expenses, legal costs, departmental funding and sums paid out to the Department of Trade and Industry's two principal contractors, AON-IRISC and Healthcall.[HL1365]
§ Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleTo date, the costs for the two schemes to solicitors and the Compensation Recovery Unit amount to £103.8 million, comprising £46.4 million in respect of respiratory disease and £57.4 million in relation to vibration white finger, VWF. The department is unable to provide figures relating to contractors' fees, as the details of these payments remain commercially confidential. The cost of administrative expenses, particularly those of the department, on this work cannot be separately identified.