WIREDGOV

Over £670m compensation has been paid to Welsh ex-miners and their families in recent months Wales Office Minister Huw Irranca-Davies has announced.

The Minister was speaking on the same day as the latest meeting of the Welsh compensation claims monitoring group.

Mr Irranca-Davies, who chairs the monitoring group, said: "Compensation payments in Wales have now reached a total of over £672m - £497.9m for respiratory disease and £174.8m for Vibration White finger (VWF) - which amounts to some £12.6m paid out since our last meeting in July.

"This is the biggest personal injury scheme in legal history and I am grateful to the members of the monitoring group, who have helped ensure that progress in Wales is maintained.

"The scheme may now be closed to new claimants, but there are still many outstanding cases to be completed. We will continue to monitor progress so that all Welsh ex-miners and their families get the justice they deserve."

Notes

The Coal Health Claims Monitoring Welsh sub-group includes representatives of the trade unions, lawyers, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Wales Office, Welsh Assembly Government, the Government's claim handlers Capita Group (formerly IRISC), and Atos Origin (formerly SchlumbergerSEMA), who carry out the tests.