§ Mr. ClaphamTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were diagnosed to be suffering from(a) asbestosis and (b) mesothelioma in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by (i) sex and (ii) age. [174796]
§ Jane KennedyCases of asbestosis identified through the Department for Work and Pensions Industrial Injuries and Disablement Benefit Scheme provide the best indication of the number of asbestosis diagnoses. Provisional figures for Great Britain in 2003 are shown by sex and age group in Table 1.
Table 1: Cases of asbestosis identified thought the industrial Injuries and disablement benefit scheme in Great Britain in 2003 by sex and age group1 Age group Sex 0–44 45–54 55–64 65–74 75+ Total Males — 20 150 260 210 635 Females — — 5 5 5 15 Total — 20 155 265 215 650 1 Provisional figures. Reliable figures for the number of diagnoses of mesothelioma are not available. The disease is rapidly fatal in nearly all cases, and a good indication of the number of diagnoses is given by the annual number of deaths. Numbers of deaths in Great Britain in 2001 (the latest year for which figures are available) are given in table 2.
Table 2: Mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain in 2001 by sex and age group Age group Sex 0–44 45–54 55–64 65–74 75+ Total Males 9 100 365 535 570 1,579 Females 5 20 54 70 120 269 Total 14 120 419 605 690 1,848
§ Mr. ClaphamTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many(a) teachers and (b) office workers were diagnosed to be suffering from (a) asbestosis and (b) mesothelioma in the last year for which figures are available. [174797]
§ Jane KennedySubstantial exposures to asbestos are required in order for asbestosis to be clinically manifested within the lifetime of an individual. Teachers and office workers are very unlikely to have had such1584W exposures during the course of their work. In 2003, 10 cases of asbestosis were identified by the Department for Work and Pensions Industrial Injuries and Disablement Benefit Scheme among occupational groups most likely to be predominantly office based. The coding of occupations is not of sufficient detail to specifically identify teachers from this data source.
Reliable figures for the number of diagnoses of mesothelioma are not available. The disease is rapidly fatal in nearly all cases, and a good indication of the number of diagnoses is given by the annual number of deaths. In 2001 (the latest year for which figures are available) there were 14 mesothelioma deaths among teachers and 24 among office workers. However, death certificates record only the last occupation of the deceased. The typically long time between asbestos exposure and the onset of mesothelioma means that the occupation recorded may not be the one in which exposure took place.
§ Mr. ClaphamTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what forecast his Department has made for the diagnosis of cases of(a) asbestosis and (b) mesothelioma cases in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2015; and when they are expected to peak. [1747981
§ Jane KennedyCases of asbestosis identified through the Department for Work and Pensions Industrial Injuries and Disablement Benefit Scheme provide the best indication of the number of asbestosis diagnoses. The number of cases in the year 2010 and 2015 is projected to be less than 1,000 in each year. No estimate of the peak number of cases is available.
Reliable figures for the number of diagnoses of mesothelioma are not available. The disease is rapidly fatal in nearly all cases, and a good indication of the number of diagnoses is given by the annual number of deaths. The number of mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain is forecast to be between 1,950 and 2,025 in the year 2010 and to be between 1,900 and 2,450 in the year 2015. The annual total number of mesothelioma deaths is expected to peak at around 1,950 to 2,450 deaths some time between the years 2011 and 2015.