Mesothelioma Bill [HL]

Page 3, line 4, at end insert—

“( )   Regulations under subsection (1) shall require the periodic review of
average civil compensation amounts in mesothelioma cases, such review to
be conducted by an independent body.

( )   Regulations under subsection (1) shall require an annual report to both
Houses of Parliament and a review of payments made under the scheme.”

Page 3, line 10, at end insert—

“( )   must ensure that applicants to the scheme are reimbursed in full by
the scheme for reasonable legal costs incurred by them in their
pursuit of payment from an employer or an employer’s liability
insurer and from their application to the scheme, over and above
any other payment from the scheme.”

Page 3, line 10, at end insert—

“( )   must ensure that payments are not less than the average award
made by civil courts to mesothelioma sufferers in comparable
circumstances.”

Page 3, line 11, leave out subsection (3)

Page 3, line 17, at end insert—

“( )   The Secretary of State may not seek repayment of that portion of any
compensation or scheme payment made in respect of pain and suffering.”

Page 3, line 17, at end insert—

“( )   All payments by the scheme shall be regarded as being made on account of
pain and suffering.”

Page 3, line 17, at end insert—

“( )   The first £75,000 of any payment by the scheme shall be regarded as being
made on account of pain and suffering.”

Page 3, line 17, at end insert—

“( )   The Secretary of State may not seek repayment of means-tested benefits
until two years after the date of an award by a court or by the scheme.”

Page 3, line 17, at end insert—

“( )   The Secretary of State may not recover non-means-tested benefits from the
claimant or from any relative or carer of the claimant.”

Page 3, line 17, at end insert—

“( )   The Secretary of State may not recover payments or benefits made more
than two years before the date of an award by the scheme.”

Page 3, line 17, at end insert—

“( )   The Secretary of State may exercise discretion as to whether he seeks
repayment of any compensation or scheme payment made to a person
diagnosed with mesothelioma or from that person’s carer or close relative.”

Page 3, line 17, at end insert—

“( )   The Secretary of State may not seek recovery of any lump sum payments
previously made to mesothelioma sufferers under other publicly funded
schemes.”

Page 3, line 17, at end insert—

“( )   The first £50,000 or 50% of any payment by the scheme, whichever is the
larger amount, shall be regarded as being made on account of pain and
suffering.”

Page 3, line 17, at end insert—

“( )   All funds paid to claimants or their dependents by the scheme shall be
deemed to have been held in trust by the scheme on behalf of the
beneficiaries and shall therefore be ignored for purposes of recovery of
benefits.”

Page 3, line 40, at end insert—

“( )   The scheme must ensure that any reasonable costs of advice incurred by an
individual in appealing to the First-tier Tribunal are reimbursed in full.”

Page 4, line 11, after “may” insert “, subject to the consent of the Secretary of State,”

Page 4, line 22, at end insert—

“( )   A body administering the scheme in accordance with arrangements under
subsection (1)(b) must be constituted of members who are demonstrably
independent of any active insurers or any person or organisation
associated with an active insurer.”

Page 4, line 25, at end insert—

“( )   The Secretary of State will make regulations permitting the administrators
of the scheme to charge and administer an annual membership fee to be
collected from each insurer, each of which contributes £10,000 to the
scheme; the funds raised through this charge shall be remitted to a
competent research institution to fund research to find new treatments for
mesothelioma.”

Insert the following new Clause—

“Oversight Committee

(1)   The Secretary of State must establish, by statutory instrument, an
Oversight Committee to monitor, review and report to the Secretary of
State on the overall arrangements comprising—

(a)   the scheme;

(b)   scheme administration;

(c)   the Technical Committee;

(d)   the Employers’ Liability Tracing Office; and

(e)   the Electronic Information Gateway.

(2)   The Oversight Committee must include representatives of—

(a)   the Asbestos Victims Support Groups;

(b)   trade unions;

(c)   active insurers;

and must be chaired by an independent person.”

Page 6, line 13, leave out “Where a payment is made under the scheme,”

Page 6, line 21, at end insert—

“(iii)   the Financial Services Compensation Scheme,”

Page 6, line 30, leave out “may help a person to bring proceedings” and insert “is
required to help a person bring proceedings, with that person’s consent”

Page 15, line 35, after “no” insert “successful”

Page 15, line 40, after “no” insert “successful”

Page 16, line 12, after “no” insert “successful”

Page 16, line 16, after “no” insert “successful”

Page 7, line 10, after “Scheme” insert “, or any other scheme established under this
legislation,”

Page 7, line 13, leave out sub-paragraph (b)

Page 7, line 40, at end insert—

(a)   any legal costs incurred by a person in bringing
proceedings, including appeal costs;”

Insert the following new Clause—

“Report on record keeping by insurers

The Secretary of State shall establish a commission to examine and report
within one year of enactment on the history of record keeping by insurers
who have provided cover against employers’ liability for mesothelioma
and other long-latency asbestos-related diseases.”

Page 8, line 21, after “may” insert “, in accordance with regulations,”

Insert the following new Clause—

“Establishing additional schemes

The Secretary of State may by regulation establish other schemes in relation
to other long-latency asbestos-related diseases.”

Insert the following new Clause—

“Report on the establishment of other schemes

The Secretary of State will, within a year of this Act coming into force,
prepare and lay before both Houses of Parliament a report setting out the
Government’s plans with regards to the establishment of other schemes in
relation to other asbestos or dust-related industrial diseases covered by the
Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979.”

Insert the following new Clause—

“Establishing additional schemes (No. 2)

The Secretary of State shall by regulation establish another scheme in
relation to long-latency asbestos-related diseases in current and retired
members of the Armed Forces.”

Page 10, line 17, leave out from “given” to end of line 20 and insert “to “relative” in
section 14 of the Damages (Scotland) Act 2011;”