§ Lord Lofthouse of Pontefractasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether claimants are cancelling their services claims in mineworkers' vibration white finger (VWF) due to delays in the tendering process for their second medicals; and, if so, what action they propose to take to remedy this. [HL5335]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville)To date, just over 13,800 claims have been received for VWF services—compensation for household tasks where additional assistance is required such as DIY or gardening. Out of these, nearly 2,400 have been preliminary processed and 109 claims are no longer being pursued. This is mostly in response to a denial.
No figures are available for the number of claimants (if any) who have withdrawn a services claim whilst waiting for the services medical contract to be tendered.