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NEARLY all
claims for coal health compensation have been
settled in South Derbyshire, MP Mark Todd has revealed.
Mark is chairman of the Coal Health Committee for the East Midlands
which
monitors the schemes in this region.
The schemes were set up in 1999 to compensate miners who had
suffered lung
disease and Vibration White Finger (VWF).
Figures up to the end of July this year show that the district's
residents
have received just over £24.8m since the scheme began.
A total of 3,290 claims for respiratory disease (known as Chronic
Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) have been made, of which 3,073 have
been settled or withdrawn - a rate of more than 93 per cent- and
just over £9m has been paid out.
In the case of VWF, there have been 1,542 claims of which
1,526 or nearly 99 per cent have been resolved amounting to
£15.8m in pay-outs. More details can be found on this web page:
http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file43172.pdf
Last year, Mark persuaded the National Audit Office to launch a
value-for-money
investigation into the scheme. The MP told investigators that
the schemes had
been run with little forethought and with minimal attempts to
contain public
cost.
The report, published last July, upheld Mark's complaints It
stated that
the average cost of processing a claim for COPD was £3,200 compared
to an average of £1,500 paid out to a claimant.
In addition, it was revealed that more than two thirds of claimants
received less than the solicitors, claims administrators and
doctors who considered their claim.
Mark, whose team has helped around 200 local people through the
claims
process, said: "We are nearing the end of these schemes,
although I still
receive queries from local people on outstanding claims. It has
been a painfully
lengthy process with slow settlements for claimants and heavy costs
to the
taxpayer. If the government has to deliver a settlement like this
again quicker
and simpler systems which reduce the role of lawyers are required.
Nevertheless
a very large sum has been paid to South Derbyshire claimants and
their families
for health damage from our former mining industry. That is very
welcome. "
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Aug 26 - Sick miners receive £25m in compensation
