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Progress to Date

Respiratory disease

Now:

• There are now around 592,000 claims registered.
• We have paid out £2.1 billion.
• 455,000 claims have been settled.
• We have made nearly 303,000 post MAP offers and 175,000 fast track offers.

Profile of Offers

Post-medical assessment process (MAP) offers have no minimum or maximum limits.

Table 1 illustrates the range of post-MAP offers that have been made.

Table 1 - Profile of Offers (30 June 2007)

The levels of compensation outlined in the Handling Agreement were agreed between the Department and the claimants' solicitors to mirror the court judgement and enable claimants to be paid the same amount of compensation, as they would have received if they had pursued a personal injury claim through the courts.

Prioritisation

Everyone wants to see the most vulnerable claimants dealt with as soon as possible.

The Department continues to progress claims in accordance with the Handling Agreement, whereby the most elderly and ill claimants are prioritised. Widows are also given priority, wherever possible. Estate claims not from widows are being processed but only when Capita’s work schedule allows them to be accommodated without affecting the progress of higher priority claims. Estate claims will therefore take longer to reach full and final settlement.

Solicitors
To assist solicitors in turning round offers, we have re-launched our website - www.coalclaims.com - where solicitors are able to send in forms electronically and agree aspects of the claim online, particularly employment histories. Solicitors can also identify from the website their highest priority claims so they can better target their efforts on those cases that are most important. The more solicitors use this facility, the greater the reduction in paperwork and the faster the process moves.

Solicitors who wish to make enquiries regarding setting up an account can call the Helpline on 020 7339 8751 or email admin@coalclaims.com

Two calculators are currently available for use by solicitors via the website. The Dust Model facilitates the calculation of the apportionment percentage based on employment and smoking histories, and this percentage figure is then used when determining the overall damages payable to the claimant. The Schedule 10 calculator uses the schemed tariffs to calculate the relevant heads of damages payable. Both models are regularly updated and help is provided, as well as a hints and tips page.

The Mineworkers' Pension Scheme element of the Pension Loss Calculator was released in 2003. The British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS) live calculator was in July 2004 and the deceased calculator was released in the autumn of 2004.   However, further work will need to be undertaken on the Calculator in respect of co-defendants.

Vibration White Finger (VWF)

Now:

• Total number of claims registered is 170,000, including about 24,000 deceased claims.
• More than 149,000 claims have been settled in full and 105,000 interim payments have been made.

Total compensation paid is £1.4 billion.