Mesothelioma Bill [Lords]

rose—

I sense he may be about to give me that assurance.

I can certainly assure the hon. Lady on her second point. On her first point, it is right that th...

I am grateful to the Minister. Taking advantage of his generosity, he will see the amendments tha...

I ask the hon. Lady please not to push me too far; but I accept those points and my civil servant...

I would never push the Minister too far.

We had hoped to have received fuller details of th...

May I suggest to my hon. Friend and the Minister that a precedent that could be considered is the...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that advice, and he is right to draw attention to the importa...

It is a pleasure to speak on this issue, on which I have a great deal of knowledge from working i...

My hon. Friend mentioned that Medway is a hot spot for the disease. There have been 42 deaths in ...

My hon. Friend is right that our constituencies are particularly affected and I am delighted to s...

The hon. Lady is making a compelling case. Does she agree that, as the Minister said, the employe...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I was persuaded by the 100% argument, b...

I am conscious that during the course of the debate I may be able to alleviate some concerns acro...

We will have an interesting discussion about that in Committee. The representations I have receiv...

Let me clarify once and for all that the legal fee of £7,000 is outside the payment. If people do...

As I say, we will have an interesting debate in Committee. Is the Minister saying that the insura...

The Bill went through the other place on the basis that the legal fees would be £2,000, yet we ar...

I am grateful for my hon. and learned Friend’s intervention. The irony is that, when the Bill fir...

The hon. Lady is generous in giving way. Is she aware that when the pleural plaques legislation w...

I do, indeed, remember that. I remember having long conversations about pleural plaques with the ...

Let me first pay tribute to the hon. Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch) for the gen...

I agree with what my hon. Friend has said about the regional media, but did he feel as concerned ...

I think that many issues of that kind will be exposed as the Bill proceeds through its stages. Th...

I do not make this point from a partisan perspective, but the hon. Gentleman said that the scheme...

This came about because of the Labour party’s links with the trade unions, which brought the issu...

There is a long history of delayed compensation for such diseases. In the early 1960s, a campaign...

Indeed.

Let me end by saying that the Bill can be improved. There is time. However, if it i...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Jarrow (Mr Hepburn), who spoke with understandable...

I agree with the hon. Gentleman’s point about the date of knowledge, but, as he knows, mesothelio...

I was coming to that point. Although for the purposes of liability knowledge of the dangers is de...

I probably am thick, but will my hon. Friend explain why there is a difference between claiming b...

I am certainly not going to insult my hon. Friend, but what I will say is that payments after dea...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the insurance industry is unlikely to walk away from this scheme b...

I agree with my hon. Friend. I do not believe that the industry, which has rightly been criticise...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for South Swindon (Mr Buckland), who has once more sho...

I agree with my right hon. Friend that the date needs to be put back. Does he agree with the poin...

My hon. Friend is very knowledgeable about these issues and he makes an important point. I am say...

On the point raised in the intervention by the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones), the depen...

I am happy to be the conduit for a conversation between the Minister and my hon. Friend the Membe...

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Paul Goggins). He...

This is a good opportunity for me to address a slight hiccup. The number of mesothelioma victims ...

I thank the Minister for clarifying the point. The trouble is that the Bill is about compensating...

Does the hon. Lady agree that there should be a phased, managed removal of all asbestos from scho...

I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman, and I think we should be starting with the schools wi...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Totnes (Dr Wollaston), who speaks knowledgeably an...

The one constant I find from people who suffer from mesothelioma is that it covers all discipline...

Members on both sides of the House have made excellent speeches and I will not repeat their point...

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Eric Joyce), who spoke movingly...

I thank my hon. Friend for making a valuable contribution, as usual. The Minister said in his ope...

My hon. Friend makes an important and eloquent point. He has been a passionate champion on this i...

rose—

—but I will first give way to my fellow north-eastern MP.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way. I have heard the argument about accepting the Feb...

Any cut-off date will be arbitrary. We just want compensation for victims in our constituencies. ...

I am president of the Merseyside Asbestos Victims Support Group. I know from the people I have sp...

My hon. Friend makes such an important point. My constituents are victims. They have done nothing...

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr Wright), who spoke so pas...

My hon. Friend touches on the very important issue of the 75% payment. Does he understand the thi...

There is no equity; 75% of average compensation is totally unacceptable for the individuals conce...

My hon. Friend mentions the part that the Labour movement has played, but there is also the part ...

I have been involved for many years in trying to claim compensation for people in work, whether f...

They are being killed.

Yes, they are being killed.

Why should 75% be acceptable? Someone has said that 80% would b...

I think my hon. Friend shares my puzzlement that we are talking about 75% being awarded to people...

I thank my hon. Friend. I will cover that during the next 30 minutes of my speech.

The regu...

I have checked the date and I think the hon. Member for South Swindon (Mr Buckland) was wrong. I ...

I wondered why 1969 was mentioned; I think that 1965 would be more appropriate.

The cut-off...

It is not very often that I disagree with my hon. Friend the Member for Wansbeck (Ian Lavery), bu...

I did not put the blame on any particular previous Government. I referred to Administrations and ...

I did not say that the Minister said that. The issue should have been resolved, because the facts...

I read Lords Hansard last night. Does my hon. Friend agree that throughout all the negotiations t...

That is absolutely right. The Government are saying that they can go only so far, because the com...

Does my hon. Friend agree that we are talking about sophisticated people, who have battalions of ...

Those people must obviously have realised that there was a potential for that. If the consultatio...

Does my hon. Friend agree that there is at least some logic in that? The arbitrary date of 2010 i...

Absolutely. The truth is that the companies knew. What was happening was not a secret. It was not...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the sums are in stark contrast to some of the eye-watering figures...

There is absolutely no comparison between the two, and seeing what has happened for people abused...

I rise to speak to this extremely important Bill. I take a strong constituency and personal inter...

Many Members welcome the Bill. I welcome that a move has finally been made on compensation for me...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the insurers have already had a windfall in the form of cases that...

I agree with my hon. Friend. It is true that there has been bad litigation, and certain solicitor...

I have heard what the hon. Gentleman said, but am I right in saying that as a colleague in the ot...

The hon. Gentleman is being very optimistic. I do not know whether he has ever dealt with insuran...

The hon. Gentleman comments on what the Conservatives have done over many years. Will he, during ...

If there is one thing that annoys me it is people who wander into a debate, having not listened t...

It is always a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) no matter...

I am grateful to have been called to speak so late in this debate. I apologise to both Front Benc...

indicated dissent.

He has not been promoted yet. When we worked in the fire service, we used asbestos anti-fire equi...

It was a great delight to hear my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Jim Fitzpatric...

Is that not a soup?

I think that is spelt with an “i”, not an “e”.

As many Members have pointed out, cancer of ...

With the leave of the House, I will respond to the debate, which I opened earlier today.

Ma...

I take exception to the Minister’s comments. Why should it be easier for public sector employers ...

The hon. Gentleman makes an enormously important point. I can remember being in an asbestos suit ...

What about the 6,000 victims prior to the cut-off date? Why should they be victimised?

I am good friends with the hon. Gentleman, and I know him well. I do not see it that way, as he k...

I am interested that the Minister says there has to be an arbitrary date. No, there does not; the...

That would be an arbitrary date too, because, as the hon. Gentleman said, mesothelioma was known ...

I am sorry to intervene on the Minister, but he seems to be saying that he will not countenance a...

That is the second time the hon. Gentleman has talked about my timetable. The Opposition insisted...

indicated dissent.

If the hon. Gentleman talked to his own Whips, he might get some sense. That is exactly what happ...

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.

Before I start my speech on Second ...

I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. I am pleased to see this Bill, only three years aft...

No, no and no. The previous Administration undertook their consultation just before the general e...

rose—

I want to make progress. I am very conscious of the time, so I will not take an awful lot of inte...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way. I know that the insurance companies are tryin...

Nothing is perfect, but there was nothing there before, and if we had carried on the way we were ...

Will the Minister give way?

I will give way one last time, but then I will have to make some progress.

I simply wanted to say, given the Minister’s experience in Northern Ireland—the Bill extends to N...

I am very pleased that I gave way to the right hon. Gentleman. The legislative consent process ha...

Will the Minister give way?

If the hon. Gentleman does not mind, I will make some progress.

The date of 25 July 2012 wa...

Will the Minister give way?

If the hon. Gentleman does not mind, I am not going to give way.

The costs of other schemes...

rose—

I will not give way.

Setting the payments at the right rate is crucial to the success of th...

Will the Minister give way?

I am coming to the end of my comments.

We have no doubt that the principle of the Bill—[Int...

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Minister is expecting to speak for a second time i...

If a Minister seeks to speak for a second time, it is with the leave of the House. As the hon. Ge...

I am conscious that lots of colleagues want to speak in this debate, which has been shortened bec...

I am very pleased to follow the Minister in opening this debate. As he has said, this Bill marks ...

Will my hon. Friend also add the congratulations of the House to the trade unions, which have not...

I am very happy to join in that tribute to the work of trade unions, a number of which have worke...

I am really glad that my hon. Friend has mentioned the progress made by the previous Labour Gover...

It is right to say that progress could have been faster and that more could have been done, but w...

I am very supportive of the Bill, as I was of previous ones—my grandfather died of pneumoconiosis...

I am happy to answer that question, as I would have done during my speech. The Opposition welcome...

The Minister spoke about the fact that insurance companies want to keep the 3% levy because they ...

My hon. Friend is right. Over many decades, insurance companies have taken in premiums and in eve...

Does the hon. Lady have a view on what level of compensation could be paid without insurance comp...

There are two questions wrapped up in that one question. First, on present figures, what does it ...

It is not just about the accumulated profits to which my hon. Friend and my hon. Friend the Membe...

I hope we bring the industry to understand that it would be right and proper for it to be more ge...

In contrast to the previous speaker, the hon. Lady is being generous in giving way. She will be a...

I can say that the Opposition will be pushing for payment levels to be increased, and we believe ...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. Is this not a familiar tune we are hearing from the G...

I hope that collectively the House can strengthen the Minister’s arm and send a strong message to...

Obviously, we want to try to help people who are suffering—everybody has accepted that—but these ...

First, the hon. Gentleman might have missed the history I just rehearsed of the legislative proce...

This might help my hon. Friend. I am very impressed by the case she is making about the need for ...

Four years certainly seems a remarkably short period over which to cost the scheme, given the man...