Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) (Payment of Claims) (Amendment) Regulations 2006

rose to move, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) (Payment of Claims) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 [15th Report from the Joint Committee]. The noble Lord said: I confirm that these regulations are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. These regulations are being made under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979. Their purpose is to increase by 2.7 per cent the amounts of compensation paid under the Act to those who first satisfy all the conditions of entitlement on or after 1 April 2006. Following the transfer of responsibility for this scheme from the Department for Transport to the Department for Work and Pensions in 2002, we gave a commitment to increase these payments annually. These regulations fulfil that undertaking. People suffering from industrial diseases have the right to sue the employer or employers where the exposure took place. But the dust-related diseases covered by this Act take a long time to develop. They may not be diagnosed until 20, 40 or even 60 years or more after exposure to the dust. By the time the disease is diagnosed, the employer or employers responsible may no longer exist. This means that sufferers and their dependants may experience considerable difficulty in obtaining compensation. Parliament enacted this legislation in 1979 to provide a measure of compensation to those who cannot claim it in the normal way through the courts. It provides lump-sum payments to sufferers from certain dust-related diseases or, when the sufferers have died, to their dependants. However, it has never been the intention of the Act to provide an alternative to taking civil action in the courts. There are three basic conditions of entitlement which must be satisfied before a payment can be made: that there is no relevant employer who can be sued; that no court action has been brought or compensation received in respect of the disease; and that industrial injuries disablement benefit has been awarded. The Act covers five main respiratory diseases, most of which are directly related to asbestos exposure. These are: mesothelioma; pneumoconiosis which includes asbestosis; diffuse pleural thickening; primary carcinoma of the lung if accompanied by diffuse pleural thickening or asbestosis—