Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to equalise the compensation received by service personnel who develop lung cancer as a result of exposure to asbestos with those personnel who develop mesothelioma.

The Independent Medical Expert Group (IMEG), who provide medical and scientific advice on compensation to the Ministry of Defence (MOD), considered mesothelioma in their third report published in 2015. IMEG's report looked at other asbestos related cancers, including lung cancer, and recommended to the MOD that special arrangements for mesothelioma would be justified. This recommendation was implemented and, since 11 April 2016, existing and new War Pension Scheme claimants with mesothelioma have had the option of receiving weekly/four weekly payments of War Disablement Pension and any supplementary allowances with eligibility for a War Widow(er)s Pension, or a lump sum of £140,000. To be eligible for the lump sum, veterans are required to wavier their right to the weekly/four weekly War Disablement Pension and War Widows Pension. This has been introduced to offer more flexibility to veterans. The third IMEG report on the medical and scientific aspects of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/imeg-third-report-on-medical-and-scientific-aspects-of-the-armed-forces-compensation-scheme