Asbestos deal will not help everyone

Jan 25 2010 The Journal

PEOPLE in the North East with asbestos-related illnesses could share in a £70m Government fund being put before unions this week.

The proposed support package, understood to have been outlined to MPs by the Prime Minister, would include bigger pay-outs for mesothelioma sufferers from shipyards and industrial sites.

But there are fears that no additional compensation will be made available to victims of pleural plaques in the region.

A list of employers and insurers would be brought into force to ensure liability can be traced by workers in the future.

But the Government has again refused to overturn a Law Lords decision from 2007 which ruled that pleural plaques sufferers are ineligible for pay-outs.

Only those who lodged claims before the decision would be entitled to claim.

Labour MPs from the region said they were “hugely disappointed”, but the offer was proof of some progress. Blaydon’s Dave Anderson said: “This is not a take it or leave it option, just a proposal the Government will take to the unions.