§ 20. Mr. Roger WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on the number of applications for miners' compensation in Wales that have been settled(a) in full and (b) on an interim basis. [35126]
§ Mr. TouhigI have regular discussions on many aspects of coal health compensation with the Minister for Industry and Energy at the Department of Trade and Industry.
To date, there have been almost 34,000 respiratory disease and 17,000 vibration white finger claims registered in Wales. Nearly 12,000 interim payments and 2,800 full and final payments worth £71.2 million have been made in relation to respiratory disease. With regard to vibration white finger, 5,000 interim payments have been made and 4,600 claims have been settled by payment. The Department of Trade and Industry and their claim handlers IRISC are on target to make 15,000 respiratory disease offers in Wales by the end of the year.
§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions regarding miners' pension schemes. [35132]
§ Mr. TouhigMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State regularly meets with Cabinet colleagues including the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
I very much welcome the announcement made by my hon. Friend the Minister for Industry and Energy on 17 January to enhance pensions for those miners on low pensions. The Government have been concerned about these miners for some time.
My hon. Friend also made a joint statement with trustees of the two former British Coal pension schemes, the mineworkers' pension scheme and the British Coal staff superannuation scheme, agreeing a review of arrangements for the Government's guarantee of Members' basic pension benefits.
Both the Government and the trustees recognise that there have been changes in circumstances since 1994 and have agreed to explore how these changes might best be reflected in revisions to the 1994 arrangements which would benefit Members. In doing so, they recognise that any revisions will need to be based on an equitable sharing of risks and reward between the schemes and the Exchequer, and will need to be sufficiently robust to operate satisfactorily in a wide variety of conditions.