§ Mr. WoodwardTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many home visits for medical 867W assessment purposes to former miners have been conducted in (a) St. Helens, South, (b) Merseyside, (c) the north-west, (d) England, (e) Scotland and (f) Wales for (i) vibration white finger and (ii) respiratory diseases. [35586]
§ Mr. WilsonThe number of domiciliary visits undertaken in those regions is as follows:
Number of vibration white finger domiciliary visits Number of respiratory disease domiciliary visits (a) St. Helens South 1 15 (b) Merseyside 5 33 (c) North-west 28 173 (d) England 201 1,815 (e) Scotland 48 389 (f) Wales 63 982
§ Mr. WoodwardTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many former miners' compensation claims for(a) respiratory disease and (b) vibration white finger have been prioritised in (i) St. Helens, South, (ii) Merseyside, (iii) the north-west, (iv) England, (v) Scotland and (vi) Wales. [35585]
§ Mr. WilsonThe number of high priority respiratory disease claimants who have been prioritised and medically assessed is as follows:
Region Number St. Helens, South 46 Merseyside 129 North-west 591 England 7,278 Scotland 871 Wales 3,400 The Department is unable, in the time given, to provide a breakdown of prioritised priority vibration white finger, VWF, claims. However, GB-wide, 346 claimants have been prioritised and received domiciliary visits.
§ Mr. WoodwardTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate the Government have made of the number of claims for(a) vibration white
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Regional breakdown of number of new claims for vibration white finger 2001 St. Helens, South Merseyside North-west England Scotland Wales January 1 8 46 812 47 56 February 3 10 30 723 24 84 March 8 14 63 1,574 39 104 April 2 35 132 1,763 112 128 May 2 6 31 1,370 91 89 June 1 14 50 1,323 80 108 July 2 15 64 1,398 93 95 August 1 8 37 1,255 49 76 September 2 16 59 1,068 55 103 October 6 23 71 1,544 173 195 November 11 37 107 2,183 138 95 December 8 22 61 1,108 93 75 finger and (b) respiratory diseases for (i) former miners, (ii) widows of former miners and (iii) other eligible estate claims for former miners in (A) St. Helens South, (B) Merseyside, (C) the north-west, (D) England, (E) Scotland and (F) Wales. [35590]
§ Mr. WilsonThe Department has received nationally 177,000 claims in respect of respiratory disease and 135,000 in relation to vibration white finger, VWF. The Department continues to receive over 600 new respiratory disease claims and over 360 new VWF claims per week. As such, the Department is unable to provide an estimate of the number of claims to be received on either scheme.
§ Mr. WoodwardTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average waiting time has been for former miners for an appointment for a medical assessment for(a) respiratory disease and (b) vibration white finger in (i) north-west England, (ii) Scotland and (iii) Wales in the last 12 months. [35589]
§ Mr. WilsonClaims are being processed according to priority as set out in the handling agreement. The average waiting time between completion of medical records recovery and an appointment to undergo a medical assessment is as follows:
(a) Respiratory disease Average waiting time in days (i) North-west (ii) Scotland (iii) Wales Live cases 76 48 123 Deceased cases 39 56 52
(b) Vibration white finger (i) North-west (ii) Scotland (iii) Wales Average waiting time in days 86 47 53
§ Mr. WoodwardTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new claims were lodged by former miners for(a) vibration white finger and (b) respiratory diseases by month throughout 2001, in (i) St. Helens, South, (ii) Merseyside, (iii) the north-west,(iv) England, (v) Scotland and (vi) Wales. [35591]
§ Mr. WilsonNew claims were registered as follows:
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Regional breakdown of number of new claims for respiratory disease 2001 St. Helens, South Merseyside North-west England Scotland Wales January 14 29 115 3,783 341 906 February 15 49 114 2,485 271 768 March 15 52 187 3,658 217 1,280 April 27 62 156 2,461 188 480 May 21 54 152 2,972 365 659 June 11 33 114 3,551 245 278 July 14 32 145 3,088 259 274 August 13 34 152 2,629 183 328 September 14 46 146 3,074 193 409 October 32 103 339 3,544 184 503 November 50 136 343 2,379 227 279 December 19 63 161 1,637 151 169
§ Mr. WoodwardTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many expedited payments were made to former miners with respiratory diseases in(a) St. Helens, South, (b) Merseyside, (c) the north-west, (d) England, (e) Scotland and (f) Wales; and what the average expedited payment award was in each case. [35588]
§ Mr. WilsonThe number and average expedited payments were made in the above regions as follows:
Region Number of expedited payments Average payment £ (a) St. Helens, South 40 3,978 (b) Merseyside 146 4,464 (c) North-west 674 4,523 (d) England 8,661 4,117 (e) Scotland 943 4,424 (f) Wales 1,201 3,630
§ Mr. WoodwardTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many former miners pursuing compensation claims have had a medical assessment for(a) respiratory diseases and (b) vibration white finger in (i) St. Helens, South (ii) Merseyside, (iii) the north-west, (iv) England, (v) Scotland and (vi) Wales. [35587]
§ Mr. WilsonThe number of miners who have attended an appointment to undergo the medical assessment is as follows:
Number of miners1 Number of miners2 St. Helens, South 330 207 Merseyside 790 681 north-west 3,234 2,328 England 37,055 62,326 Scotland 7,326 4,069 Wales 17,945 8,814 1 Who have attended a respiratory disease medical assessment 2 Who have attended a Vibration White Finger medical assessment
§ Mr. BarronTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been paid to claimants through each of the top 10 claims handlers involved in the compensation claims for(a) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (b) vibration white finger of former coalminers. [37424]
§ Mr. WilsonThe amount paid to claimants through each of the top 10 claims handlers for respiratory disease and Vibration White Finger is as follows.
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(£ million) Solicitor Total damages paid Respiratory Disease Thompsons 62.2 Hugh James Ford Simey 47.6 Union of Democratic Mineworkers 16.1 Raleys 27.4 Mark Gilbert Morse 4.3 Browell Smith & Co 20.9 Graysons 10.1 Watson Burton 7.2 Irwin Mitchells 12.4 Randell Saunders 3.3 Total 211.3 Vibration White Finger Thompsons 70.1 Browell Smith & Co 40.5 Union of Democratic Mineworkers 43.8 Raleys 28.5 Hugh James Ford Simey 28.6 Graysons 22.0 Moss 14.2 Watson Burton 23.1 AMS Law 12.8 Towells 16.6 Total 300.4