Mesothelioma Bill promises £355m for victims

Victims of mesothelioma who cannot trace their employer or employer's insurance company could be eligible to receive up to £355m in compensation payments over the next 10 years as a result of a bill in today's Queen's Speech.

The Mesothelioma Bill would impose a levy on employers' liability insurers to create a 'scheme of last resort' for around 3,500 sufferers across the UK.

A spokeswoman for APIL, which campaigned for an Employer's Liability Insurance Bureau, said the bill had delivered some but not all of what it wanted.

The government scheme will apply only to people diagnosed with mesothelioma from 25 July 2012 and will not apply to other asbestos-related conditions.

Justice minister Helen Grant said just before Christmas that the government intended to introduce a portal for mesothelioma claims.

As part of the consultation, Grant said the government would carry out the review required under section 48 of LASPO on the impact of abolishing recoverability of success fees and insurance premiums in this area.

Adrian Budgen, head of the asbestos-related disease team at Irwin Mitchell, said the scheme in the bill might only provide people with 70 per cent of the average compensation for mesothelioma.

An Intellectual Property Bill also features in the Queen's Speech, responding to the recommendations of the Hargreaves Review.

The bill would set up the Unified Patent Court, creating a single patent system across EU countries apart from Italy and Spain.

The court will be based in Paris, with a branch in London ruling on life-science and pharmaceutical patents and one in Munich, which will decide on engineering patents.

The government said it would make it easier for business to understand what was protected, make ownership clearer and introduce a 'design-rights opinion service'.

A draft Consumer Rights Bill would consolidate all the legislation on consumer rights in one place, including parts of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Sale of Goods Act 1979.

It would aim to provide "clarity in areas where the law has not kept up with technological advances" such as e-books and software.

The government's commitment to make forced marriage a criminal offence will be implemented by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill.