HL Deb 28 January 2002 vol 631 c18WA
Lord Hardy of Wath

asked Her Majesty's Government:

  1. (a) how many applications for compensation under the emphysema and bronchitis scheme for mineworkers or former mineworkers have resulted in full or transitional payments being made;
  2. (b) in how many cases the applicant has died since the presentation of their case; and
  3. (c) how many applications have still to be considered. [HL2260]

Lord Sainsbury of Turville

To date, IRISC, the department's claims handlers, has registered 173,824 claims in respect of compensation for respiratory disease. There have been 14,780 claims settled and 43,904 interim payments have been made, worth £241.4 million in total.

The handling agreement for compensation for respiratory disease was formally signed on 24 September 1999 and claims could not have been settled before this date. The number of claimants who initiated their claim after this date, but have died since registering their claim, is 6,271. Where claimants have died in process, the protocol to deal with these claims was agreed with the claimants' solicitors and put into operation in November 2001.