Bringing Mesothelioma victims one step closer to justice

This evening in parliament we will be able to take one more step forward in the long fight for justice for victims of the terrible asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma. In January, MPs across the House united to call for an increase in the level of compensation payments for victims who were unable trace a former employer or employer’s insurer, and who had been exposed to this terrible disease at work. Tonight, it’s expected the Minister will announce an uplift in the level of payouts from 75 to 80% of average civil damages – in line with an amendment supported by a group of MPs including the then Labour MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East,  the late Paul Goggins, and me, and moved by Conservative MP Tracey Crouch.

Mesothelioma is a cruel and terrible disease. A rare form of cancer, it hardens the muscles in the lungs and abdomen until the sufferer can no longer breathe. Labour MP Jim Sheridan graphically described it as a “tree growing inside you which eventually chokes you to death”. It is rapidly and invariably fatal: there is no cure and almost all victims die within three years of diagnosis, most within just a few months.

Exposure to asbestos is the disease’s only trigger. So – because of a law introduced by Labour in the 1960s (the Employers’ Liability Act) – anyone subjected to this risk at work is entitled to compensation.

But Mesothelioma is a long-tail disease. It lies dormant in the body for years, decades even, before taking hold; as a result, many sufferers attempting to claim compensation have found their employers and their employers’ insurers are no longer traceable. The widespread misplacement of employment and insurance records has meant that, for one in every eight victims of this disease, the horror of being handed what is essentially a death sentence is compounded by the injustice of not receiving the compensation they deserve, and the added financial stress this can inflict on their family.

In 2010, Labour began a consultation on a payment programme, funded by the insurance industry, which would offer a scheme of last resort for these abandoned victims. Credit is due to the current Government for pursuing the agenda and, in January, the Mesothelioma Act  finally received royal assent  to set up this scheme. However, as Labour complained at the time, we were deeply unhappy with the level of payment offered.  Victims left with no other choice but to claim through this scheme were initially to be entitled to just 70% of compensation that sufferers who could trace their employer would receive.

Labour MPs and Peers campaigned hard to achieve justice for victims of this “irresponsible capitalism”. In the Lords, we achieved a 5% increase in the payouts to 75%; in the Commons, we supported a cross-party amendment to raise the level of compensation to 80%; and in Committee I suggested a number of ways that this could be achieved within the budget constraints set. One of these was to reduce the significant administrative costs associated with the scheme – and to use these additional funds to increase the size of the payment pot for victims. Today, we expect the Minister Mike Penning will confirm he intends to put this very idea into practice. The scheme costs will be cut, and the level of compensation offered will be 80%.

For Mesothelioma victims, it’s an extra £8,000, raising the average payment to be received to £123,000. And it’s a welcome reminder of the difference the persistence of parliamentarians can make, even when government seems intransigent.

80% still isn’t perfect; there is no moral justification for victims to receive anything less than 100% of the compensation they deserve. But it is one step closer to a fair deal. And that is something we can, and should, be proud of.

Kate Green MP is Labour’s Shadow Minister for Disabled People