My Lords, I am pleased to add my voice to those congratulating the Government on moving forward. Some of us intend to ensure that this movement goes forward a bit more. Correctly, generous tributes have been paid to the Minister and to my noble friend Lord McKenzie. As my noble friend Lord Jones mentioned, others have been involved over many years in the battle to combat the damage that asbestos has done: people from the trade unions, the media, the medical and legal worlds, as referred to by the Minister, and many in this House and the other place.
I would have preferred the Bill to go further than it does and to address more purposefully some of the concerns raised by noble Lords tonight. I live in hope that we can make some improvements in Committee and that perhaps we will get some assurances about action in the future. My concerns are those of others—I will not labour them at this time of night. Limiting the Bill only to mesothelioma excludes 50% of those who suffer from asbestos-related diseases. I understand it would cost about 20% to 25% more if the levy included those and I do not think that this is an impossible ask—if not now then shortly in future.
The more immediate problem is the cut-off date of 25 July 2012. Comparing the treatment of someone who is diagnosed the day before with that of someone diagnosed a day later seems a sheep and goats distinction, which will be hard for some people. If the date is pushed back, then because of the short life expectancy of many sufferers, the problem will be a little easier. I hope that this will be a problem we can discuss.
My third major concern is about this 70% limit. It is unfair discrimination, as my noble friend Lord Howarth so ably put it, against people who cannot find their employer or insurer. Maybe it will be in the interests of some of the less scrupulous insurers to hide a bit and not volunteer all the information that they might. In those circumstances, to discriminate in the compensatory award against the individual concerned is not right. Fourthly, the insurance industry has helped a little in funding research into the treatment of these diseases and I hope that the levy on them will include provision for them to help research even further into the treatments available.
I worked in a brake lining factory more than 40 years ago and was one of the lucky ones. I worked there for six weeks. Many of my contemporaries are not around now. Male life expectancy in the ward where the factory was located was only 59 in 1993. That shows the pernicious effects that this substance has had. Congratulations on continuing the battle against it and let us go a little further than we are at the moment.
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