About us
Source: gov.uk (2025-09-23)

The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) is an independent scientific advisory body that looks at industrial injuries benefit and how it is administered.

We give independent advice to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions) and the Department for Communities (https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/) in Northern Ireland.

IIAC does not deal with industrial injuries benefit claims. Go to Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (https://www.gov.uk/industrial-injuries-disablement-benefit/).

Our responsibilities

To help us to do our work, we consider published independent medical and scientific research, and information from relevant bodies. Our responsibilities are to:
- make recommendations to update the list of diseases and the occupations that cause them (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-injuries-disablement-benefits-technical-guidance/industrial-injuries-disablement-benefits-technical-guidance#appendix-1-list-of-diseases-covered-by-industrial-injuries-disablement-benefit) for which Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit can be paid
- draft papers for the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to present in Parliament, where legislative changes to the Industrial Injuries Scheme are proposed
- scrutinise proposed regulations relating to industrial injuries benefit or its administration
See also:
- IIAC terms of reference (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68cd1ff1c908572e81248a50/iiac-terms-of-reference-Jul-2025.pdf) (PDF, 110 KB, 2 pages)
- IIAC Research Working Group Terms of Reference (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68cd2046a1e4472207995d99/rwg-terms-of-reference-Jul-2025.pdf) (PDF, 91.1 KB, 2 pages)
- The legal framework for IIAC (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a75b88fed915d506ee80fda/IIAC_legal_framework.pdf) (PDF, 29.7 KB, 1 page)
Our priorities

Our priorities are to:
- ensure the advice we give about the Industrial Injuries Scheme is impartial, evidence-based, effective, credible and timely
- continue the council’s work programme
Our work programme will include:
- neurodegenerative diseases in sportspeople
- ongoing work coming out of the commissioned review of respiratory diseases
- a review of women’s health and occupation
IIAC ongoing rolling programme of work

IIAC’s research working group has been considering its work programme. It has decided a review of its priorities is required. The list is now under review and a new rolling programme of work will be published early in the new year once signed off by the full Council.

Review of coronavirus (COVID-19) in occupation

IIAC has now published a position paper and two command papers:
- COVID-19 and occupation (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-occupation-iiac-position-paper-48): IIAC position paper 48 in March 2021
- COVID-19 and Occupational Impacts (CP 740) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-occupational-impacts) in November 2022 making recommendations for health and social care workers
- Occupational Impact of COVID-19 (CP 1189) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/occupational-impact-of-covid-19-in-the-transport-and-education-sectors) in the Transport and Education Sectors in November 2024
IIAC will continue to monitor the evidence as it emerges, including for long-covid.

Who we are

The council usually has 17 members (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/industrial-injuries-advisory-council/about/membership), including the chair. It includes:
- independent members with relevant specialist skills
- representatives of employees
- representatives of employers
Independent members currently include doctors, scientists and a legal member.

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions decides how many members to appoint to the council. It must include equal numbers of representatives of employees and employers (Social Security Administration Act 1992, Schedule 6 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/5/schedule/6/enacted)).

The council doesn’t have any staff of its own but DWP provides a small administrative team. The council holds an annual public meeting in a different place in the UK each year. Other council meetings are usually held in DWP offices.

Read about the history of IIAC (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7de28e40f0b65d88635000/IIAC_history.pdf) (PDF, 38.1 KB, 2 pages).