To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the setting up of the medical review panel on miners' compensation; and when the panel will begin its work. [116880]
The Review Panel is a feature of a revised version of the medical disputes procedure proposed by the claimants" solicitors and currently under discussion between the parties. A good measure of progress has been made on this issue and it is hoped that agreement can be reached in the near future.In the meantime, the original version of the medical disputes procedure continues to operate in draft, as agreed by the parties. There is no bar to a claimant bringing a dispute under this version of the medical disputes procedure until the revised version is finalised.