To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many former miners have (a) applied for and (b) been granted industrial injuries benefit for miners' knee in the North East region to date. (317160)

The information is not available in the format requested.

The current national position is that since the addition of osteoarthritis of the knee to the list of prescribed industrial diseases on 13 July 2009, 32,820 claims have been received nationally of which 7,713 have received an award of, or an increase of industrial injuries disablement benefit.

This information is based on an ongoing informal count by the Jobcentre Plus offices dealing with industrial injuries disablement benefit. We are looking into arrangements to publish this information as official statistics.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will estimate the number of miners and former miners who experience chronic back and neck pain as a result of their working conditions. (317242)

It is not possible to provide a reliable estimate because the Labour Force Survey contains insufficient cases of miners, or former miners, who have self-reported work-related musculoskeletal disorders.