asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he proposes to take in the light of the report by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council on its review of the provisions for industrial disablement benefit for occupational deafness.
The Council's report has been carefully considered and I am glad to say that the Government accept its recommendations. It is intended to extend the cover of the occupational deafness scheme to workers in a number of noisy occupations hitherto excluded and to amend the definition of occupational deafness and the scale of assessment as proposed by the council. Regulations will be introduced as soon as possible to give effect to these proposals.The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council has been asked to keep the occupational deafness scheme under continuous review.