My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Yvette Cooper) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I am pleased to inform the House that, from April 2010, a series of increases will be made to lump sum payments paid to individuals suffering from mesothelioma and certain other qualifying diseases under the Pneumoconiosis etc (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 and the 2008 Mesothelioma Scheme. Together these schemes mean that all people suffering from mesothelioma can receive lump-sum awards from the Government quickly after diagnosis, in addition to weekly state benefits.

There is no requirement on Government to uprate payments under the schemes but we have previously committed to increasing payments in line with those to state benefits. We have laid regulations to increase payments under the 1979 Act by 1.5 per cent from 1 April this year despite the negative growth in the retail price index. This will increase the value of such payouts to these very vulnerable people.

I can also announce that we are increasing the level of payments made through the 2008 mesothelioma scheme to bring them up to those under the 1979 Act.

The 2008 scheme was introduced to provide up-front financial support to those people who previously were not eligible for help from the Government’s other compensation schemes. The scheme is funded by compensation recovery—compensation recovered from individuals who are successful in a civil damages claim but who have already received a payment under the 1979 Act or 2008 scheme. When we started the scheme in 2008 we set awards at a level consistent with the amount of recoveries we expected to make; a lower rate than the 1979 Act. We made it clear, however, that we intended to bring 2008 scheme payments to the same level as those under the 1979 Act at the earliest opportunity. Our expectation was that we would be able to do this in the scheme’s third year of operation.

I am pleased to inform the House that we are able to honour our promise sooner than expected and will be increasing payments to 1979 Act levels from April 2010, only 18 months after the 2008 scheme started. This means that those receiving a lump sum payment for mesothelioma will receive the same amount whether they were exposed to asbestos at work or exposed elsewhere, such as through washing their partner’s clothes or by living close to an asbestos factory.

Finally, I am announcing an increase in the level of payments made to most dependants under both the 1979 Act and the 2008 scheme.

We recognise that the terrible effects of mesothelioma are not limited to the sufferer and that their families also have to cope with the effect of the disease on their loved-one, witnessing their pain, suffering and ultimately their death. While we do acknowledge this by making payments to the family of someone who dies of mesothelioma and other dust-related diseases—such as pneumoconiosis, byssinosis and silicosis—these payments have been paid at a much lower rate than those to sufferers during life. We listened to the arguments put forward by stakeholders and honourable Members, who feel that this situation is unfair to dependants and can put added stress on sufferers and families at already extremely difficult times. We made a commitment to look at reducing the difference in payment to sufferers and dependants as funds became available.

We are now able to do this and from April the majority of dependants receiving awards under the 1979 Act and 2008 scheme will receive a £5,000 increase. Those who already receive close to the amount paid to the sufferer will receive a proportionate amount, bringing their award up to the level of that paid to the sufferer in life.

These changes all take effect from April 2010.