Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) Bill [HL]

My Lords, Amendment 15 is purely a probing amendment to understand the scope of the proposed scheme. It is now nearly two and a half years since the judgment. Many claims that were live at that time have since been withdrawn or discontinued by the claimant or lawyers on their behalf. Claims that were live at the time of the judgment may now be long gone. I wanted to be clear as to whether such claims are within or outside the scope of the scheme. I can possibly predict the Minister’s answer that the Government will announce this shortly when they announce the further details of the scheme. However, it might be that the Minister can provide some assistance on the question of individuals who have begun but not yet resolved a claim. This point is not entirely clear to me. It would be very useful if the noble Lord could assist the Committee at this stage. I beg to move.