The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said consensus had been agreed on the specifications for its pilots to streamline employers' liability (EL) claims, following a meeting in December.

The EL pilot board will now work towards testing the pilot specifications at Park Cakes Bakery in

Oldham in early 2005, said the DWP.

A spokeswoman for Zurich said the first pilot would run in isolation for a two-month period to test the process before further pilots were launched.