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Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) (Payment of Claims) (Amendment) Regulations 2008

I thank all noble Lords who have spoken and warmly welcomed the proposals. I shall seek to deal with all the questions that have been raised. First, on the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, on the number of claims, the position is that total claims received up to March 2007 are 27,101, while the total claims paid to that date are 19,214. The issue is that those are lump-sum payments; there is no continuing payment beyond that lump sum. My noble friend Lord Jones asked about the overall statistics. I do not have the overall data on the number of people claiming industrial injuries disablement benefit, but I shall write to him on that. On the scale of annual incidence, focusing on claims for mesothelioma, which represents 70 per cent of the total number of claims made under this scheme, in 2005 there were 2,037 deaths. The statistical research done by the HSE suggests that the number of mesothelioma deaths is expected to peak, with some 2,450 deaths between 2011 and 2015. That will give the noble Lord some idea of the scale, but I shall write with more specific information.