Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the effect on family members of silicosis sufferers.

Dependants of silicosis sufferers who have died can claim compensation under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979 scheme. Under this scheme, the Department has paid £10,871 to dependants over the 17/18 and 18/19 financial years.

Arrears of Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) may also be claimed by the spouse or civil partner of a deceased sufferer of silicosis. Information on the amount of IIDB paid to in these circumstances is not immediately accessible, and would require the merging, filtering and quality assuring of complex datasets, data on these claimants could only be provided at disproportionate cost.