Tag: Alan Meale

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Meale on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reasons his Department included in the tender document to administer the Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis Scheme 1974 a requirement that all posthumous claims to that scheme be accompanied by a grant of probate.

Jesse Norman

There was no separate tender document for the administration of the Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis Scheme. The Department’s tender did not therefore have any bearings on the requirements under the Scheme.

Before payments can be made under the CWPS, claims handlers must ensure that the person making the claim is entitled to do so. Provision of probate is sometimes necessary in posthumous claims to ensure that the correct person receives the compensation and also to ensure that the positions of both the estate and the taxpayer are adequately and proportionately protected against fraud.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Meale on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which signatories to the Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis Scheme 1974 were consulted by his Department prior to the inclusion in the tender document to administer that scheme a requirement that all claims to that scheme be accompanied by a grant of probate.

Jesse Norman

There was no separate tender document for the administration of the Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis Scheme (CWPS), hence there was no such consultation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Meale on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many posthumous claims for compensation under the (a) Pneumoconiosis etc (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 and (b) Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis Scheme 1974 were successful in each of the last 30 years.

Jesse Norman

With regards to the Pneumoconiosis etc (Workers Compensation) Act 1979, the Department for Work and Pensions have advised that the information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

For the Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis Scheme 1974 (CWPS) the figures for posthumous claims received and paid, and the reasons for the difference between the two are shown in the table below:

Year	Deceased Claims Received	Dec’d Claims Paid	Denials & Work In Progress (WIP)
Duplicate Claim Denial			Failed Eligibility Denial	Nil Offer*	Work In Progress/Withdrawn/ Other Denial
2011	41	17	5	15	3	1
2012	104	65	20	6	3	10
2013	160	103	18	13	14	12
2014	153	96	19	13	18	7
2015	169	101	20	20	24	4
2016	70	33	6	7	7	17

* Nil Offer – a claim under the 1979 Act resulted in a higher award than would have been payable under the CWPS

N.B. Figures only available from July 2011 onwards when current claims handler took on the contract.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Meale on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many recipients of posthumous claims for compensation under the (a) Pneumoconiosis etc (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 and (b) Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis Scheme 1974 were found to be in receipt of less compensation than they were entitled to after the post-mortem evidence for those claims was submitted.

Jesse Norman

There have been no such claims.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Meale on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many posthumous claims for compensation under the (a) Pneumoconiosis etc (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 and (b) Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis Scheme 1974 were submitted in each of the last 30 years.

Jesse Norman

With regards to the Pneumoconiosis etc (Workers Compensation) Act 1979, the Department for Work and Pensions have advised that the information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

For the Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis Scheme 1974 (CWPS) the figures for posthumous claims received and paid, and the reasons for the difference between the two are shown in the table below:

Year	Deceased Claims Received	Dec’d Claims Paid	Denials & Work In Progress (WIP)
Duplicate Claim Denial			Failed Eligibility Denial	Nil Offer*	Work In Progress/Withdrawn/ Other Denial
2011	41	17	5	15	3	1
2012	104	65	20	6	3	10
2013	160	103	18	13	14	12
2014	153	96	19	13	18	7
2015	169	101	20	20	24	4
2016	70	33	6	7	7	17

* Nil Offer – a claim under the 1979 Act resulted in a higher award than would have been payable under the CWPS

N.B. Figures only available from July 2011 onwards when current claims handler took on the contract.

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