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11 Jul 2005 : Column 703W—continued
Miners' Compensation Scheme
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the 20 medical companies who have received the most in fees under the Miners Compensation Scheme for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and vibration white finger since 1999, broken down by amount received. [10462]
Malcolm Wicks
[holding answer 7 July 2005]: The medical companies who have received fees under the Miners Compensations Schemes are as follows.
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Company | Total approximate fees paid to date (£ million) |
|---|---|
| Healthcall | 120 |
| SEMA/ATOS | 180 |
| Capita Health Solutions | 2 |
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions have taken place between his Department and IRISC in relation to eliminating fraud under the Miners' Compensation Scheme since 1990. [10336]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 7 July 2005]: Detection of potentially fraudulent claims has formed part of the Department's claims handlers' role since the schemes began in 1999. A process for managing the risk of fraud is in place and the Department holds regular discussions with the claims handlers on the issue.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what training has been provided for officials on avoiding fraud under the Miners' Compensation Scheme in each year since 1999. [10337]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 7 July 2005]: Officials receive work-based training and guidance from external lawyers and consultants and the Department's own lawyers on fraud management on an ongoing basis.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the top 20 solicitors in terms of (a) fees paid, (b) claims registered and (c) claims outstanding for (i) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and (ii) vibration white finger deceased claims under the Miners' Compensation Scheme. [10344]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 7 July 2005]: The top 20 solicitors in each of the categories is as follows:
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Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what role Ministers had in the decision to allow the Union of Democratic Mineworkers to process compensation claims directly under the coal health schemes. [9089]
Malcolm Wicks
[holding answer 4 July 2005]: Following the judgments against British Coal in both the vibration white finger and respiratory disease litigations, the High Court ordered the DTI to set up schemes, in agreement with miners' solicitors, to assess compensation for both types of claim. Claims had by then been registered through the Claimants Solicitors Group (the CSG), some of which were sponsored by the main mining unions, the NUM and NACODS. The UDM had also registered a large number of claims directly on behalf of their members, through their dedicated claims handling company, Vendside Ltd. The CSG and the UDM were unable to work together or enter into single arrangements for historical reasons. Ministers agreed the DTI would negotiate the strategy with the UDM and Vendside in which the terms for compensation are the same as for the agreement with the CSG.
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Petrol Prices
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to reduce the price of petrol. [10535]
Malcolm Wicks: The DTI closely monitors petrol price changes within the market, which recently have reflected high international oil prices.
While it is Government policy not to intervene in commercial price setting, because they believe that the consumer is best served by open competition between companies within the UK downstream oil sector, they do recognise the impact that high petroleum prices can have on various sectors. As a result they have acted by announcing that due to sustained volatility in the oil market the Government will not go ahead with the planned inflation increase on 1 September—including for rebated oils, biofuels and road fuel gases—and will review the position again at the time of the pre-Budget report.
The Government are also supporting efforts to improve stability in the international oil market by promoting greater market transparency and understanding, and encouraging greater investment throughout the global oil supply chain.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average price per litre of (a) unleaded petrol and (b) leaded petrol was in (i) Great Britain and (ii) the United States, together with the amount of tax paid per litre in each case, in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [10536]
Malcolm Wicks: Data are only available for unleaded petrol (95 RON specification) and for the United Kingdom not Great Britain. Prices in pence per litre are given as follows.
Source:
International Energy Agency, Energy Prices and Taxes, Q1 2005.
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