To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many personal injury claims for pleural plaques he estimates the Government will be liable to pay as (a) an employer and (b) the funder of the liabilities of former nationalised industries if the Scottish Parliament passes legislation making pleural plaques a compensatable condition; and what estimate he has made of the size of the Government’s potential liability. (186303)

The Scottish Parliament has not yet legislated to facilitate compensation for pleural plaques through the Scottish civil courts. We are therefore unable to offer any accurate assessment of the associated potential Government liability for claims. Any estimates which could be drawn from the current numbers and value of claims across Government Departments may well be affected by legislation that is passed.