asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have made an assessment of the number of complaints received and dealt with by the Legal Complaints Service in connection with the British Coal litigation; and, if so, what was the number and outcome of such cases. [HL801]

Our understanding is that the Legal Complaints Service (LSC) has received 2,884 complaints to date, of which 2,038 have been closed. Of this 2,038, 1,051 have resulted in payments in excess of £720,000 being recovered for former miners or their relatives. 987 matters were closed due to reasons such as the complainant resolving the matter with the solicitor without LCS assistance, the complaint being outside the LCS jurisdiction; i.e. the complaint was against a union, or the complainant not responding.

The LCS has recently completed a number of pilot information sessions for former miners in Kevin Barron MP’s Rother Valley constituency. This has resulted in a further 330 complaints. Consideration is being given to extending this initiative to other areas. The LCS has a meeting with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in mid-December and my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Bridget Prentice) in early January to discuss the next steps.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many claimants are still awaiting their final payments of compensation in the British Coal respiratory disease litigation and British Coal vibration white finger litigation; and when each scheme will be dissolved. [HL803]

The department received 592,000 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) claims, of which 103,564, (17 per cent) are yet to be settled by payment, denial or withdrawal. The department also received 170,000 vibration white finger claims, of which 8,453 (5 per cent) are yet to be settled by payment, denial or withdrawal.

The department anticipates that around 300 VWF claims may still be outstanding by April 2008 and a similar position for COPD claims in spring 2009.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is their latest assessment of the administrative, logistical and legal expenditure incurred in handling cases under the British Coal respiratory disease litigation and British Coal vibration white finger litigation and the current total outlay in respect of compensation paid to claimants under each such scheme. [HL805]

The department's administrative costs cannot be broken down by scheme. However, the total administrative cost for the coal health compensation schemes as at 31 October 2007 is £524 million. This covers the costs of the department's contractors and external legal advice.

The additional costs with respect to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and vibration white finger claims as at 31 October 2007 is shown below: