HL Deb 16 March 1989 vol 505 cc437-9

The Earl of Dundee rose to move, That the draft regulations laid before the House on 16th February be approved [11th Report from the Joint Committee].

The noble Earl said: My Lords, these regulations are to be made under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Comnpensation) Act 1979. Their only purpose is to increase by 8 per cent. the amounts of compensation paid under the Act to those who first satisfy all the eligibility conditions on or after 1st April 1989.

The Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979 provides for lump sum payments to sufferers (and where the sufferers have died, to their dependants) of dust-related diseases, where there is no former employer remaining in business against whom a claim for damages might be or might have been made.

The reason why compensation is provided in this way is the length of the time taken for the disease to develop and the symptoms becoming apparent. It can be many years later when the sufferer discovers he has the disease, often long after he or she has left the employment which caused or contributed to the development of the disease. It often happens that by that time the employer (or employers) where the sufferer was exposed to harmful dust has gone out of business and it is therefore no longer possible for an action for damages to be brought through the courts.

The Act itself did not provide for amounts of payment, nor for automatic uprating. But the Government have more than once undertaken to Parliament to review the amounts payable each year. This has been done.

The original payment regulations set out a scale of payments related to age and degree of disability (as assessed by medical experts). They came into effect on 1st January 1980. A number of increases have been made since then with the aim of keeping the payments in line with the value of money.

Last year Parliament approved an increase of 8.5 per cent. from April. The proposed increase this year is for 8 per cent., which takes account of inflation since then.

I should like to say that the Government do all that they can to administer the Act in a sympathetic way. We recognise that each case is an individual tragedy and we are as generous as the statute will allow us to be. However, it has never been the purpose of the Act to provide an alternative to taking action in the courts and the Department of Employment has to be satisfied that there is no employer against whom a claim for damages could be or could have been made.

Since the Act came into force in 1980, 6,283 people have made claims of whom 75 per cent. have received payment. Eighty-two per cent. of all claims to date were made in the first year of the scheme, and although it is a sad fact that claims are still being received by the Employment Department the number has fallen to about 100 per year since 1984 –85. The total cost to date has been about £27.9 million. Expenditure this year has been about £498,000. Most of these payments are made to sufferers (or their dependants) in industries or occupations which involved contact with asbestos. They reflect the poor conditions which applied in some workplaces a generation or more ago, and the reduced number of claims indicates that as we moved into the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s there has been a steady improvement in working conditions.

Your Lordships will readily understand the importance of uprating the amounts of compensation the Government pay to those disabled by these diseases. I commend the regulations to the House and ask for your Lordships approval. I beg to move.

Moved, That the draft regulations laid before the House on 16th February be approved [1Ith Report from the Joint Committee.]—(The Earl of Dundee.)

Baroness Turner of Camden

My Lords, I thank the noble Earl for giving such a detailed explanation of the uprating proposed in the regulations. We on this side of the House welcome the regulations and the fact that the intention is to maintain the value of money. Therefore the order makes provision for uprating by 8 per cent. It is quite true, as the noble Earl said, that this is a horrendous disease. It affects workers in mines and foundries. It is progressive and is a disease which ultimately kills.

I was interested to note that the noble Earl also referred to claims arising from the use of asbestos. As the noble Earl rightly said, many years ago it was not understood that the use of that material would have the effects which it has. I believe that it is a warning to us all that often substances are in use, and probably are in use to this day, where it is not appreciated that they may have deleterious effects on the workers handling them. Having said that, from this side of the House I welcome the regulations.

Lord Rochester

My Lords, from these Benches, I should like to join in thanking the noble Earl, Lord Dundee, for the clear way in which he has explained the regulations. We have no comment to make, and on behalf of my noble friends I am happy to approve the regulations.

On Question, Motion agreed to.