Compensation Bill [Lords]

I add my congratulations to those already given to the Minister by my colleagues. I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Interests and declare an interest as a member of the GMB union and an interest in relation to Thompsons solicitors, who were both involved in representing Mrs. Barker. The point made by the hon. Member for Cambridge (David Howarth) is certainly of interest and needs to be studied, but I am not sure that the mechanics of the procedure in this House and the other place will allow it to be examined properly in the time scale available. However, I would be interested to hear the Minister’s comments. I want to be brief, because we have had a full discussion and there has been full consideration. It is important that the Government responded so speedily and compassionately to the problems thrown up by the Barker case. Many previous speakers have mentioned the aspects of mesothelioma that create difficulties—the lack of warning and the speed with which the illness has fatal consequences. The speed is extremely important. My major point is that none of these matters would have come before the House had it not been for the work of the trade unions, who supported Mrs. Barker and the other pursuers who were involved in the cases being decided by the House of Lords. We are talking about ordinary people doing ordinary jobs who have been subjected to the various elements that caused their illnesses, but who are not in a position, because of the complexity of the issues that they face and the expense, to pursue such matters on their own behalf. The legal aid system is not as helpful as it once was in that respect. Trade unions support their members in this way not just in run-of-the-mill cases, but in difficult cases such as the Barker case and, previously the Fairchild case. People are supported by the trade union movement to open up the law, to probe it and to deal with these difficult issues. In this particular case, that has led to some difficulty for claimants. I raised an issue with the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) in relation to the problem that the Government face when, on the one hand, they represent the employer in many of these cases––as they do in the case that we are discussing, through the inheritance of the responsibilities of the British shipbuilding company—and, on the other hand, they have to respond quickly to the consequences of the decision. I am sure that he makes the point in all seriousness, but it is important that we on this side do not take it too seriously. If a Minister were faced with legal advice to say that the Fairchild decision makes the Government potentially liable for massive damages because it has fundamentally changed some of the principles of liability, it would be negligent of Government in those circumstances not to have tested the situation. I am sure that any Minister faced with that legal advice would be left with virtually no alternative but to follow it. From the outside, it looks daft and a waste of public resources, but, in any circumstances, anyone with any knowledge of what happens in government would know that that is not the case. It is a course that had to be pursued. I welcome the extension of the legislation to Scotland. The Scottish Parliament is in recess and has been for the past 10 days or so, so it would not have been possible to legislate there. It is important that, as part of the devolution settlement, we have the process known as the Sewel motion to allow those important decisions to be taken for the whole of the UK. In Scotland, the senior court in civil cases is the court of the House of Lords, so the judgment in Barker will apply in Scotland as much as it applies in England and Wales. That aspect is extremely important. New clause 6, which was tabled by the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire, is a distraction. The immediate priority is dealing with the consequences of the Barker case. Discussions are going on that might lead to a scheme for arbitration, but we will have time to reflect on that in the future. The urgent priority is the Barker decision, so I hope that the Government will not be distracted from that.