Written question asked by Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour) on Wednesday, 25 June 2008.

British Coal Compensation

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 21 April (WA 222–3) concerning the Rother Valley Pilot and retired miners' complaints against solicitors in the British Coal litigation, whether the Answer took account of the findings of the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner that the figures for miners' complaints provided by the Legal Complaints Service increased not because of awareness raising, but because of complaints made through a Member of Parliament.

Answer: It is our understanding that, in collecting data on miners' complaints, the Legal Complaints Services did not differentiate between those complaints that resulted from the Rother Valley initiative and those that had been brought in other circumstances. The Legal Services Complaints Commissioner, in her report, believed that the way the LCS had set up its monitoring systems had shortcomings and that the tracking of pilot cases could be more informed. Issue 7 of the report suggested: "““For pilot areas, LCS should ensure that all complaints are separately recorded as pilot complaints. Mechanisms should be in place to enable tracking and monitoring of ongoing progress to inform the end of pilot evaluation””."

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 4159; 702 c248WA
Session: 2007-08
Related items: British Coal Compensation
Monday, 21 April 2008
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects: Complaints Compensation Coal British Coal Corporation Industrial diseases Mining Solicitors Legal Complaints Service
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk