I also add my best wishes to my right hon. Friend the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Paul Goggins), who is an avid campaigner on this issue. I will make a brief contribution.
Mesothelioma has long been neglected in terms of research funding. Lord Alton highlighted that while mesothelioma received £1.4 million in voluntary and private sector funding, £22 million is spent on bowel cancer, £41 million on breast cancer, £11.5 million on lung cancer and £32 million on leukaemia. Those are all terrible diseases in desperate need of research, but so is mesothelioma.
The amendments have the potential to save tens of thousands of lives. If a cure is found it could reduce the number of compensation payments required. It is money well spent. Not only will it save lives, it will save the insurance industry money in the long run. It is for this reason that I fail to understand why we are not on board.
I want to expose the myth that mesothelioma is related only to industrial diseases. The hon. Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch) mentioned the impact on teachers, but it also affects children, ancillary workers, janitors and all kinds of people who are now employed by, or attend, schools. I ask the Minister to take the time to look at the excellent TUC and National Union of Teachers report on asbestos in schools and future compensation payments. There is evidence that some 75% of state schools have asbestos in their buildings. That is a time bomb waiting to explode. It is important to get that message out there.
Equally, it is important to let potential governors of private fee-paying schools and academies know that they could be liable to pay compensation, should they take on that responsibility, if future pupils are cursed with mesothelioma. It is important for the Government to make people aware that, when they take on governorships or other voluntary jobs in schools, they could be made liable for insurance claims.