Mesothelioma Bill [Lords]

Steve Rotheram Excerpts

Tuesday 7th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Hon. Members]

Hear, hear!

[Steve Rotheram (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

New clause 2 on the importance of research was tabled by my right hon. Friend the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Paul Goggins), who sadly cannot be with us today to speak to it. I am sure that the very best wishes of the whole House for a speedy and full recovery will be relayed to his family by my right hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham). I thank the hon. Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch) for her contribution today and the work she has done through the all-party group with my right hon. Friend the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East. We wanted to ensure that my right hon. Friend’s amendments were debated in the House and taken forward due to the importance of this issue. He worked tirelessly on behalf of his and all our constituents on this important issue, which still blights the lives of thousands of people. There remains no cure for mesothelioma, but it is vital that research continues to offer hope to those still suffering from asbestos-related diseases. It is also essential that sufferers receive the maximum possible compensation, and that it is not reduced by having to pay legal fees. My right hon. Friend sought to improve this proposal and I intend to press it to a vote.

--- Later in debate ---

The Minister and his predecessors deserve some credit for taking on the consultation that the previous Government set out. As I have said before in the Chamber, my hon. Friends who were here before me pushed for this for so many years under the last Government and they should have got further faster, but that was not for want of trying by Ministers.

[Steve Rotheram]

My hon. Friend is making a powerful point, but does he agree that premiums should not be increased, because premiums have already been paid to insurance companies who made huge profits and distributed them to shareholders? They have had the money and they should pay out, as that is what happens with an insurance scheme.

[John Woodcock]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Insurance companies now have an opportunity to do the right thing and to be seen to be doing the right thing, and I hope they take it.

I said the Minister deserved some credit but I think he has blinked too early in this negotiation. We have all said we recognise the pressures he is under, but there are a lot of Members of this House who know a bit more about negotiations than I do and they will all tell him, just as I am about to do, that people do not tend to go into a negotiation saying, “Well, we’re going to offer this now, but, to be honest, there’s a bit further we could go so just push us a bit more and we’ll be prepared to give you a bit more.” They always say, “This is the last offer and we are not going to go further.”