Miners 'wait 10 years for payouts'

Some even died while their claims were being processed because ministers massively underestimated the size and complexity of the project, the Public Accounts Committee found.

Solicitors have earned more than £1.3 billion in fees for handling the claims, meanwhile, with one firm alone collecting nearly £124 million.

Average administration costs amounted to more than the claim in more than two-thirds of the cases.

In a highly-critical report, the committee said the Government had expected about 218,000 claims for lung disease and vibration white finger, with payouts totalling about £614 million.

There have now been about 762,000 claims which it is thought will cost about £4.1 billion once they are all settled, as well as another £2.3 billion in administration.

But tens of thousands of ex-miners are still waiting for an offer. Last September there were about 128,500 claims still awaiting settlement. Some miners had waited up to 138 months, and rising, between their medical assessment and receiving an offer.

Committee chairman Edward Leigh, a Conservative MP, accused the Department of Business and Enterprise of having "seriously mismanaged" the schemes in their early stages.

"Its attempt to implement the schemes swiftly, combined with its underestimation of how many claims would be made and how complex some would be, resulted in many claimants having to wait a very long time for the compensation they were owed," Mr Leigh said.

"Some of these were elderly and ill and in no position to wait for years for compensation - in some cases 10 years or more. Some claimants even died while waiting. The taxpayer has also taken a big hit, with the cost of just administering the schemes expected to total nearly £2.3 billion."