GOVERNMENT officials are insisting that fast-track payments to former miners will begin later this month despite a dispute over who pays for access to health records.

The first payments to living miners under the scheme are due to begin on February 28.

But after months of negotiation between the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and solicitors representing hundreds of thousands of claimants, there is still one issue which could delay payouts.

Solicitors are unhappy at a High Court ruling that the DTI should not pay for the production of medical records where the claimant is likely to opt for a fast-track payment.

Lawyers representing pitmen and their families argue that, in some cases, medical records are needed to determine whether or not claimants should opt for a fast-track payment or hold out for a potentially larger payment.

It is estimated that the costs of obtaining medical records is around £250, which could end up being deducted from payouts.

DTI officials are confident that the fast-track system for living miners will begin in just over two weeks although lawyers from the Claimants Solicitors Group (CSG) are not so sure.

Roger Maddocks, a leading member of the CSG and a Newcastle solicitor, said: "If the records are obtained by the claimant's solicitor to advise a client whether they should go for the expedited scheme, the issue is whether the cost can be recovered in some way."

Meanwhile, the DTI is proposing four bands of payments to living miners who do not have serious respiratory disease but have worked underground.

However, the DTI points out that the final figures are still being contested by the CSG.

The proposed rate starts at £1,400 for ex-pitmen whose spirometry test reveals normal lung function and for those unable to complete the medical tests. Those with some evidence of lung disease, but with the possibility of other causes, are in line for £3,700.

Claimants where test results are likely to be affected by asthma are set to receive £12,900.

The DTI is proposing to pay flat rates of £1,200 to widows and £1,000 where deceased claimants are not thought to have had serious respiratory problems.

In all cases, miners or their families retain the right to have their claim assessed by respiratory specialists. However, if the specialist decides the claimant does not qualify for compensation, this would rule them out of the fast-track process.