This report from the MoD/AWE CSMB to the Compensation Scheme Council provides an update on the number of cases being dealt with under the Scheme and the key issues considered by the CSMB during 2010.

The MoD/AWE CSMB has now been operating for sixteen years and has met, as is normal, twice this year.

To date there have been a total of 310 MoD/AWE eligible cases since the Board formed. There are currently 14 cases including joint cases that are being screened.

This year 2 new morbidity cases have arisen for consideration. One joint case has almost been settled with an interim payment been paid.

Since the MoD and AWE joined the Scheme there have been 15 cases that have qualified for compensation; and have subsequently been settled.

As was reported in the 2009 Progress Report the time taken to resolve some cases with radiation exposure in the late 1950s and early 1960s continues to be difficult due to earlier standards of radiation dose record keeping. The legal requirement for record keeping relating to radiation doses was not fully developed at that time, dose records are sparse and not of the quality that allows a speedy processing of cases. To cope with an increasing requirement for dose reconstructions more resource has been required but specialist personnel are not always available.

A number of over arching technical papers have been requested by the Compensation Scheme Technical Working Party. A review of the protocol addressing internal doses has been completed and the MoD is now resourcing research into past exposures to neutrons.

In order to maximise the available resources to process cases in a timely fashion, the MOD / AWE CSMB has developed a process to exclude cases where the claimant is not satisfied with the outcome and raises spurious issues that require considerable resource to respond to. This process has been adopted for this board with Union approval and can be shared with Council.

Two further issues have drawn resources from the processing of the difficult reconstruction cases in the year. These were the Redfern Inquiry into the post mortem collection of tissue samples from radiation workers and a group action brought through the Courts for radiation exposure of 1000 individuals at the British Nuclear test programme.

It should be noted that a number of claims against MOD for radiation exposure have also been processed by the same specialist staff. these claims have made directly against MOD and have not come through the Compensation Scheme route.

Overall the CSMB has had a successful year of operation during which the Board has been supportive of Scheme initiatives.