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Mesothelioma Lump Sum Payments (Conditions and Amounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2011

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Freud, for introducing these orders in a very sympathetic way. As we have heard, one of the orders increases the amount of compensation paid to sufferers of mesothelioma under the scheme legislated for in 2008, and the other uprates payments made under the Pneumoconiosis etc (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979. My noble friend Lord Jones has spoken passionately about the scheme in the past and was involved in it from the start. I am sure that we will hear from him further this afternoon. It is noted that in both cases the uprating is by reference to CPI, at 3.1 per cent. Given the Minister’s reference to what uprating by RPI—minus 1.5 per cent—would have done this year, we are in the same place on that issue. Nevertheless, had it been uprated by RPI at the top end of the scale, there would be something like an additional £1,000 of compensation. However, within the context of our overall position on the change to CPI, we can and do support both of these orders. The scheme brings some relief to sufferers of certain industrial-related diseases. They are all terrible diseases. As the noble Lord said, they are a dire legacy of our industrial past. We have heard that the number of deaths from mesothelioma continues to rise and is still a few years away from its peak, which we were told will be in 2015. I was going to ask the Minister whether he could give us an update on the number of payments made to date in the current year under the 1979 and 2008 Act arrangements, with an estimate for both for next year. I think that he may have given us that, so I will look at the record. If it does not fully cover that query, perhaps he will drop me a line, unless he has the figures available today. The resources for the 2008 Act payments were to be found from compensation recovery from civil claims related to the 1979 and 2008 Act schemes. Will the Minister give us an update on the current level of successful claims and the compensation recoverable? What amounts are estimated to be due to be received in the current year and next year? He will recall that last year we were able to announce an alignment of the 2008 Act scheme payments with those of the 1979 Act for sufferers of mesothelioma and their dependants. This was about a year earlier than we had originally expected. It would appear that this parity which has been obtained is to continue, and we welcome that. However, we also took steps last year to reduce the gap between awards to sufferers and awards to dependants. Seemingly no further progress has been made in this regard with the current year's uprating. We should recognise the terrible effect that these diseases can have on families who have to cope with the effects of pain and suffering on their loved ones. Differential payments between sufferers and dependants can put pressure on the former at the most difficult time in their lives. What are the current Government's intentions in this matter? Is it still their intention to narrow or to close the gap, and when is further progress likely to be made? These orders deal with statutory compensation schemes paid for in part by compensation recovery. The schemes are there to the extent that individuals cannot achieve civil compensation either from a former employer or their insurer. I should like to pursue two points. The first relates to the Court of Appeal decision in October last year which determined that liability for compensation for mesothelioma arose when the symptoms were suffered and not when the exposure to asbestos arose—I think that an appeal in respect of this is in progress—turning on its head prior understanding and practice and creating great consternation among sufferers and support groups. Can we please hear about the assessment which has been made about the implications of the judgment, in particular about the prospects for compensation recovery? The second point relates to the prospects of individuals claiming against a former employer or their insurer which depend on the ability to trace employers' liability insurance policies. When in government, we launched, together with the insurance industry, a voluntary code of practice for the tracing of policies. That had some success but fell short of what was required, especially for business written after 1999, hence the proposals to establish an employers’ liability tracing office to manage an electronic database. Can we have an update on progress on that project, please? The Minister will also be aware that we consulted on the establishment of an employer liability insurance bureau. That would act as a fund of last resort in cases where all other efforts to trace an employer or insurer failed. Are the Government still looking to take that forward? I look forward to hearing what the Minister has to say in response to those points. Of course, I stress that we support each of these regulations.