THE Government has welcomed a move to stop solicitors charging sick miners for compensation claims.

The Government already pays solicitors' fees for all successful coal-related health claims so that the full amount of compensation awarded goes to the miner or their family.

Some solicitors have been taking a cut of this compensation on top of the agreed fees already paid by the DTI.

The Law Society's Compliance Board has issued a policy statement saying that such charging is unlikely to be justified and is "likely to give rise to a finding of inadequate professional service".

Nigel Griffiths, Minister for Coal Health, said: "I welcome the ruling. I deplore any attempt to charge sick miners or their families for legal expenses which are already covered by the Government.

"I would encourage anyone who has been charged such fees to go back to their solicitor and demand their money back. If they face problems, they should make an official complaint to the Law Society."

Mr Griffiths has written to all coal health solicitors, asking those who have unfairly taken a proportion of the compensation to voluntarily repay the money.

The Government has paid out almost £2 billion under the coal health compensation scheme, with an extra £311 million given to solicitors to cover their fees.

The standard fee for a successful claim going through the full procedure is about £2,100.

The DTI has made 167,000 payments totalling £913 million to miners for vibration white finger and 180,000 payments totalling £953 million for respiratory disease claims.

Exact figures are not known but it is thought that the number of formers miners and dependents in the Bolton area -- many of whom could qualify for compensation -- could run into thousands.