Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what response they are making to the announcement by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health that diseases as a result of exposure to asbestos are killing 5,000 people a year and that more than 130 companies or individuals have been ordered to stop work activities over the past year after being found to be non-compliant.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The Government welcomes the efforts by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) to raise awareness of the health risks arising from workplace exposure to asbestos. The announcement by IOSH highlights the need for employers and employees to remain vigilant when undertaking work which may disturb asbestos. The Health and Safety Executive and Local Authority inspectors will continue to take action in cases of non-compliance with the law, as indicated in the IOSH announcement.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to mark the UN's World Down Syndrome Day on 21 March; and what steps they are taking to ensure that people with Down syndrome have equal opportunities in all aspects of society.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The UK Government marked this year's World Down Syndrome Day by co-sponsoring and participating in a key side event called "Leave no one behind" at the 21st Session of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Geneva. The event's theme was “Ensuring all persons with Down Syndrome can access meaningful employment and an adequate standard of living on a full and equal basis with others.”
The Government is fully committed to its vision - to create a society that works for everyone, where all can participate fully and be included. Therefore, Government Departments have invested in a range of programmes and initiatives to ensure that disabled people including persons with Down Syndrome are not left behind in all aspects of society such as in employment, education, health, housing, transport and sport.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many posthumous claims were made in 2017 under (1) the Coal Industry Pneumoconiosis Compensation Scheme, (2) the 2008 diffuse mesothelioma payments scheme, and (3) the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme; how much was awarded in total; and of those claims, how many were made on behalf of deceased (a) men, and (b) women.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
Posthumous claims can be made by widows/dependants under the Coal Industry Pneumoconiosis Compensation Scheme. In 2017 there were 95 claims and payments totalled £211,175.
Under the 2008 Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme (2008 Scheme) and the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS) payments can be made to certain eligible dependants of those individuals who died with Diffuse Mesothelioma before they could make an application to the Scheme, assuming the individual with the disease was eligible for a payment.
The most recent quarterly statistics relating to the 2008 Scheme can be found on sheet “IIDB3_2” via gov.uk
The information requested about DMPS payments made posthumously is not available.
For all the schemes there is no available data on the numbers of claims in respect of men and women.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) whether the number of civil compensation awards in mesothelioma cases have increased, and (2) whether such awards provide funds for diverse treatments that are not available on the NHS; and whether they intend to review the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme to ensure that it provides a similar level of awards and treatment options.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
Information is collected on the number of personal injury claims made in the courts overall but it is not broken down between individual types of injury or disease. Statistics recording the number of civil compensation claims made in mesothelioma cases or of the awards or settlements resulting from them are not available.
In line with commitments made during the passage of the Mesothelioma Bill, the Department for Work and Pensions, which has responsibility for the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS), intends to review the DMPS payment tariffs in due course to ensure payments made under the Scheme are maintained at an appropriate level.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the amount claimants to the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme receive compared to those with mesothelioma who successfully pursued civil claims; whether the difference in those amounts has increased in the past three years; and whether they will publish details of the average pay-out variations between the Scheme and civil claims.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
When the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS) was introduced in 2014 the payment tariffs were based on 80 percent of the average damages awarded in the civil courts. This amount was increased to 100 percent in 2015
This increase is far greater than if increases had been made in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). For example, the highest DMPS payment for those aged 40 or under in 2014 was £216,896 and this was increased to £271,120 in 2015, and the lowest payment for those aged 90 or over increased from £69,649 to £87,061
Information about the value of court awards or out of court settlements in Diffuse Mesothelioma cases in the past three years is not available. The 'Study into average civil compensation in mesothelioma cases', published in 2014, estimated average (mean) civil compensation at £153,531 (in 2012 prices). The average payment under the DMPS for each of the last three years is £135,000, £141,000 and £145,000 respectively.
In line with commitments made during the passage of the Mesothelioma Bill, the intention is to review the payment tariffs, in due course, to ensure payments made under the Scheme are maintained at the appropriate level.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to increase tariff payments from the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme in line with the Consumer Price Index; if so, when; and whether they intend to conduct a review of that Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
When the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS) was introduced in 2014 the payment tariffs were based on 80 percent of the average damages awarded in the civil courts. This amount was increased to 100 percent in 2015
This increase is far greater than if increases had been made in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). For example, the highest DMPS payment for those aged 40 or under in 2014 was £216,896 and this was increased to £271,120 in 2015, and the lowest payment for those aged 90 or over increased from £69,649 to £87,061
Information about the value of court awards or out of court settlements in Diffuse Mesothelioma cases in the past three years is not available. The 'Study into average civil compensation in mesothelioma cases', published in 2014, estimated average (mean) civil compensation at £153,531 (in 2012 prices). The average payment under the DMPS for each of the last three years is £135,000, £141,000 and £145,000 respectively.
In line with commitments made during the passage of the Mesothelioma Bill, the intention is to review the payment tariffs, in due course, to ensure payments made under the Scheme are maintained at the appropriate level.