UK Parliament / Open data

Mesothelioma Bill [HL]

Proceeding contribution from Lord McKenzie of Luton (Labour) in the House of Lords on Wednesday, 17 July 2013. It occurred during Debate on bills on Mesothelioma Bill [HL].

My Lords, the amendment stands in my name and that of my noble friend Lady Sherlock. I shall also speak to Amendment 8. The two amendments are linked, and we see Amendment 8 as being consequential.

The amendment addresses one of the major bones of contention with the legislation: its start date. The payment scheme, which we all applaud, is applicable only to those first diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma on or after 25 July 2012. This is, as we know, the date when the Government responded to the consultation

published by the previous Government. It was more than two years after the consultation closed. Over that period, some 600 individuals will have died from diffuse mesothelioma without them or their dependants receiving proper compensation.

We were told in Committee that it took so long to move from consultation to response because of the complexity of the issues and the intense work with stakeholders, including the insurance industry. We accept this, but it can hardly then be argued that the insurance industry did not know what was coming. It would surely have been on notice as to the likely parameters of the scheme, because it was a key participant in the negotiation, which in effect required some degree of agreement. It is not as though the scheme was somehow sprung on the industry from out of the blue.

We had some debate in Committee about the date on which insurers could reserve against liabilities. As my noble friend Lady Sherlock exposed in her usual forensic analysis, it is not a matter of reserving against liabilities. The levy is apparently a tax and should be provided for in the usual way when it arises.

It has been suggested that the February 2010 date, the date on which the consultation document was issued, was insufficient notice to create the expectation of the introduction of a scheme that would have to be funded by the insurance industry. We disagree. It is an entirely appropriate start date. Paragraph 60 of the document states clearly:

“Having considered this carefully, the Government are persuaded that an ELIB”—

an employer liability insurance bureau—

“should form part of the package of measures to improve the lives of those who, for whatever reason and through no fault of their own, have been injured or made ill”,

by work.

That was clearly putting people on notice that the then Government were intent on introducing an ELIB broadly on the terms of the Motor Insurers’ Bureau. Moreover, this intent was not limited to a scheme to cover diffuse mesothelioma; it was a broader intent to cover those more generally who were missing out on justifiable compensation. Although a very valuable scheme, what is now provided for in the capital is a smaller, less costly scheme than was signalled in the February 2010 consultation. It should have been no surprise for insurers. The arguments in favour of a July 2012 commencement are flimsy to say the least. In its briefing for today, the Law Society states: “There is little justification for disqualifying cases diagnosed between the announcement of the consultation in February 2010 and July 2012”.

Of course, the Minister will tell us that there is greater cost, that it could tip all this finely balanced negotiation over the edge, and that co-operation from insurers would recede, but the cost originally presented to us for a February 2010 start date was an extra £190 million. It is now transpired that that assumes payment at 100% and presumably took no account of any additional compensation recovery that might ensue and assist with smoothing. It would be dependants rather than sufferers who would mostly benefit from this, because many of the latter would, sadly, not have survived, but that is no reason to deny justice. I beg to move.

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
747 cc790-4 
Session
2013-14
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
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