§ The Minister for Work (Mr. Nicholas Brown)In a written statement on 22 May I announced that the Department would publish a first stage report of its review of Employers' Liability Compulsory insurance immediately following recess, on 3 June.
I am pleased to announce the publication of that report. I have arranged for copies of the report to be placed in the Library of the House. I understand that the Office of Fair Trading is also announcing today the outcomes of its fact-finding study into the UK Liability Insurance market.
The Government are well aware that over the past year many businesses have been hit hard by significant price increases in the Employers' Liability insurance market and we are committed to playing our part in helping business in this area. There are, however, no quick or easy solutions to these difficulties and the interim report sets out the key findings of the review on the case for the reform of the Employers' Liability Insurance system and the steps we are now planning to take.
Over the past months we have worked closely with trade associations, the CBI, the TUC and the insurance industry to improve the outlook for responsible businesses in a difficult insurance market and a number of initiatives are already being developed to assist business.
The Government will assist in supporting and further developing these initiatives. In particular, Government will be working with interested parties to help develop the basis for more risk-related premiums.
Government are also committed to working with stakeholders to address the long-term issues. The report identifies four significant areas for further action:
2WSGovernment will work with stakeholders to maximise the benefits for EL of current initiatives within the legal system. In parallel, Government will discuss with stakeholders the options for alternative dispute resolution arrangements.Government will engage with business, industry and other stakeholders to further evaluate the evidence for separating long-term occupational disease risks from accident risks—more evidence would be needed to assess whether a radical separation is justified.Government are committed to make rehabilitation play a more central role in the UK workers compensation system, to improve outcomes for employees and to let compensation reflect this.Government will reform the arrangements for enforcement of EL, to tackle the unfairness of competition trading illegally without insurance cover and to better protect employees.This interim report is an agenda for action. We will move swiftly, in discussion with interested parties, to develop a programme for tackling the long-term issues identified in this report.
There is more to be done in areas such as rehabilitation, the cost of resolving claims and long-term occupational disease. There also remains further information on the operation of the insurance market, and its impact on the wider business community to be gathered.
Our considerations will be informed by the findings of the Office of Fair Trading's fact-finding study on the liability insurance market. The particular issue of competition in the liability insurance market is a matter for the Office of Fair Trading. Given the ongoing concerns of the business community about the costs of employers' liability insurance, the Government will closely monitor developments in the market, looking at any new information about the workings of the market for employers' liability insurance that becomes available.
We will report in autumn on the progress that has been made and any further steps we intend to take.