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Coal Industry Compensation

Volume 455: debated on Tuesday 9 January 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, column 14W, on coal industry compensation, what the proposals were which his Department put to claimants’ solicitors for the compensation of surface workers for exposure to dust which were rejected; on what date those proposals were put to the claimants’ solicitors; and on what date they were rejected. (109466)

The Department tried to negotiate a settlement through a schemed approach based on the Claims Handling Agreement (CHA). The Department agreed with the Claimants Group (CG) on taking mixed workers—those who had worked both underground and on the surface—into the scheme. The Department offered that any surface worker in a dusty job—with agreement on what these were—could go through the medical assessment for chronic bronchitis and temporary exacerbation of asthma which provides for low levels of compensation (on the lines of the tariffs now operating in the fast track scheme). And any surface worker with a pneumoconiosis reading (which the Department's claims handlers, Capita, took as a proxy for a marker of exposure to dust) could go through the full medical assessment and have access to higher levels of compensation for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

This proposal was submitted to the CG on 17 July 2000. The CG rejected the Department's position in a counter proposal on October 2000.

The CG was in favour of further joint studies and the House was informed in March 2001. As a result of these further studies and developments over the next four years, the Department's position is now that ‘it cannot scheme compensation’ to surface only workers for COPD.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, column 14W, on coal industry compensation, what steps his Department took in relation to the minute which had been submitted to Parliament on 10 July 2000 following receipt of the medical advice suggesting that surface workers exposed to dust should not be compensated. (109467)

Following receipt of the medical advice the Department sought to reach a negotiated settlement with claimants’ solicitors. Negotiations continued until February 2003 when the Department submitted its final position.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, column 14W, on coal industry compensation, on what date his Department received medical advice that surface workers should not be compensated for exposure to dust; and on what date Ministers were informed of the receipt of that advice. (109468)

The Department received medical advice on 13 July 2000 and Ministers were informed of that advice on 16 July 2000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, column 14W, to Question 107112, on coal industry compensation, what the evidence that had been collated at that time was. (109469)

The Department used the medical advice submitted in the original trial in deciding the liability owed to surface workers. The ‘respirable’ (as opposed to visible) dust levels recorded on the surface during the period of liability by the Institute of Occupational Medicine were such that there was very little likelihood of those even in the dustiest occupations on the surface developing Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), even with a working lifetime's exposure, although surface dust might cause COPD in a few super-susceptible individuals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, column 14W, on coal industry compensation, why the decision was taken to submit a minute to Parliament before the medical advice sought on 19 June 2000 had been received. (109470)

Treasury rules required that we had to put this minute to the House before Parliament rose for the summer recess in 2000 to allow us to open negotiations with the claimants’ solicitors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, column 14W, on coal industry compensation, on what date Ministers were informed that medical advice was being sought on compensation for miners for exposure to surface dust; and if he will make a statement. (109471)

Ministers were informed on 5 June 2000 that medical advice was being sought on compensation for miners for exposure to surface dust.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, column 14W, on coal industry compensation, whether Ministers were given a written submission informing them that medical advice was being sought. (109475)