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Banks

Lord James of Blackheath asked Her Majesty's Government:

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Truscott): We have no plans to do this. However, figures for individual insolvencies are published quarterly. As I said on 7 March (Official Report, col. 222), the Government take over-indebtedness very seriously and have a range of measures to help vulnerable borrowers. In addition, my honourable friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury announced on 14 March that there will be a new Financial Inclusion Fund for the next spending period to 2011. This will allow us to continue to support projects promoting access to affordable credit, providing debt advice and helping to protect vulnerable people against illegal moneylending.

British Coal Compensation

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract asked Her Majesty’s Government:



29 Mar 2007 : Column WA297

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Truscott): The department’s view is that it would be disproportionate to write to each miner and widow. We continue to work with the Legal Complaints Service (LCS) to bring the issue to claimants’ attention, and the forthcoming edition of the Compensation for Miners newsletter will feature an article on the role of the LCS and its contact details. Some 45,000 copies of the newsletter are printed and distributed to doctors’ surgeries, citizens advice bureaux and MPs, and a copy is placed on the DTI website.

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract asked Her Majesty's Government:

Lord Truscott: Audits are regularly undertaken of the financial management and process procedures of payments to all claimants’ solicitors which includes the Union of Democratic Mineworkers.

This gives an assurance that payment has been correctly made. The most recent audit was undertaken in October 2006.

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract asked Her Majesty’s Government:

Lord Truscott: No such assessment has been undertaken. The National Audit Office is currently undertaking a review of the coal health schemes.

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract asked Her Majesty’s Government:

Lord Truscott: As at 18 March 2007, the number of deceased claims where the miner’s date of death is later than the date of claim but earlier than the final damages payment is as follows:

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) = 16,848;

vibration white finger (VWF) = 4,177.

There are 1,662 claims that appear in both the VWF and COPD list. It should be noted that those figures relate only to those claims where the miner himself died prior to receiving final compensation,

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not the widow. It should additionally be noted that the figures for VWF do not include those claims with outstanding services claims.

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract asked Her Majesty’s Government:

Lord Truscott: Our latest forecast, as at the end of October 2006, still envisages a total administrative expenditure of circa £2.4 billion. This figure includes plaintiff costs and costs borne by the defendant (Department of Trade and Industry).

The department is currently undertaking a forecasting exercise for close of accounts and will be able to offer a revised figure by the end of April 2007.

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract asked Her Majesty's Government:

Lord Truscott: The number of claims that were settled by denial/withdrawal or awarded compensation under the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) scheme, broken down as requested, are shown on the table below:



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Analysis of Settled claims
Total damages paid on claim (£)COPD

Claims settled by denial/withdrawal

55,186

1p to 99p

17

£1 to £2

65

£3 to £4

81

£5 to £6

88

£7 to £10

204

£11 to £15

240

£16 to £20

293

£21 to £25

284

£26 to £30

315

£31 to £40

684

£41 to £50

625

£51 to £60

715

£61 to £75

970

£76 to £100

1,636

£101 to £200

6,698

£201 to £300

7,152

£301 to £500

15,318

£501 to £1,000

33,760

£1,001 to £2,000

155,574

£2,001 to £3,000

29,193

£3,001 to £4,000

23,202

£4,001 to £5,000

13,055

£5,001 to £10,000

31,229

£10,001 to £25,000

33,426

Greater than £25,000

17,959

TOTAL

427,969

Claimants' solicitors agreed to implement a minimum payment top-up scheme to claimants. Under this scheme, solicitors will themselves effectively be making the payments by discounting their fees to make top-up payments to their clients whose offers fall below £500.

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract asked Her Majesty's Government:

Lord Truscott: The number of claims that were settled by denial/withdrawal or awarded compensation under the vibration white finger (VWF) scheme, broken down as requested, are shown on the table below:



29 Mar 2007 : Column WA300

Analysis of Settled claims
Total damages paid on claim (£)VWF

Claims settled by denial/withdrawal

34,982

1p to 99p

0

£1 to £2

0

£3 to £4

0

£5 to £6

0

£7to £l0

0

£11 to £15

0

£16 to £20

0

£21 to £25

0

£26 to £30

0

£31 to £40

1

£41 to £50

0

£51 to £60

0

£61 to £75

1

£76 to £100

1

£101 to £200

17

£201 to £300

37

£301 to £500

307

£501 to £1,000

3,345

£1,001 to £2,000

2,175

£2,001 to £3,000

5,660

£3,001 to £4,000

8,244

£4,001 to £5,000

7,111

£5,001 to £10,000

37,405

£10,001 to £25,000

36,717

Greater than £25,000

6,474

Total

142,477

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract asked Her Majesty’s Government:

Lord Truscott: Our estimated date for substantial completion of the VWF scheme is the end of 2007. We envisage that the total number of claims settled (by payment, denial or strike-out) will be circa 170,000.


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