To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will commission a study from the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council on (a) the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among former employees of the health and beauty industry and (b) their potential eligibility for industrial injuries disablement benefit.
Answered on
7 September 2020
The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) is proposing to commission a comprehensive review and evaluation of the literature, including epidemiology, on work-related malignant and non-malignant respiratory diseases, primarily focussing on lung cancer and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), to inform, update or potentially expand the industrial injuries scheme. The proposal is in its early stages, the tendering process to appoint a suitably qualified organisation to carry out the research was delayed by the coronavirus crisis and lockdown, but will be resumed as soon as practically possible.
We carefully consider any recommendations made by the IIAC and wider stakeholders. Should IIAC recommend further changes to the list of prescribed diseases, we would of course treat this with careful consideration.