§ Ann ClwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the number of Miners' Health Compensation Scheme claims for respiratory diseases settled in full in(a) Wales and (b) the rest of the United Kingdom. [26869]
§ Mr. WilsonIRISC, the Department's claims handlers, have registered 33,661 claims in respect of respiratory disease in Wales. Taken together with Scotland and England, the total number of claims for respiratory disease is 173,824.
Progress in Wales comparatively has been good. To date, the Department has settled 2,358 claims and paid 11,272 interim payments in Wales worth £63.6 million. In total across the UK, 14,780 claims have been settled in full and 43,904 interim payments have been made, totalling £241 million.
150WNationally, during November, nearly 7,000 offers worth £47.7 million were made, under both schemes, with a further 5,385 offers worth £42 million in December.
§ Ann ClwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if extra staff and resources will be appointed to accelerate the processing of Miners' Health Compensation Scheme claims in Wales. [26873]
§ Mr. WilsonThe Department and its contractors continuously monitor the level of resources spread geographically across the Scheme as a whole. In Wales, it was decided between the Department and the Claimants' Solicitors that an office would be opened to process Welsh claims. The office was up and running in a very short time frame and opened on 2 April 2001. The number of staff at this office has increased from 11 to 70 by the end of 2001 and will be increased by a further 20 staff by March this year.
§ Ann ClwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average duration was between assessment and a full and final settlement for former miners with regard to(a) vibration white finger and (b) respiratory diseases in (i) Wales, (ii) the rest of the United Kingdom and (iii) the Cynon Valley in the last 12 months. [26875]
§ Mr. WilsonIn respect of vibration white finger (VWF) the average duration between medical assessment and date of offer is as follows:
Duration between medical assessment and offer date Region Duration (i) Wales 5 months, 4 days (ii) United Kingdom 6 months, 5 days (iii) Cynon Valley 6 months, 15 days With regards to respiratory disease, the average time between medical assessment and date of offer is as follows:
Duration between medical assessment and offer date Region Duration (i) Wales 6 months (ii) United Kingdom 5 months, 14 days (iii) Cynon Valley 6 months, 16 days
§ Ann ClwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are being taken to speed up the processing of miners' compensation claims in the Cynon Valley. [26874]
§ Mr. WilsonWith regards to vibration white finger, there are 1,847 claims registered in the constituency of Cynon Valley. To date, 809 individual payments have been made, totalling £5.0 million.
In relation to respiratory disease, 3,238 claims have been initiated in the above constituency. 1,140 individual payments have been made worth £5.4 million.
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave her to question No. 26873, above, regarding measures to speed up the process in Wales.