Mesothelioma (Amendment) Bill [HL]

The Mesothelioma (Amendment) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench). The Bill received its first reading in the House of Lords on 2 June 2015 and is due to receive its second reading on 20 November 2015. The Bill seeks to amend the Mesothelioma Act 2014 to ensure that the levy paid by insurance companies, introduced by the 2014 Act, is also used to fund research into mesothelioma.

• Section 13(1) of the Mesothelioma Act 2014 instructs the Secretary of State to make regulations requiring active insurers to pay a levy with a view to meeting the costs of the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme. Clause 1(2) of the proposed Mesothelioma (Amendment) Bill would amend the Mesothelioma Act 2014 to require the regulations to specify that the levy should include a research supplement.
• Clause 1(2) includes details of the level of the research supplement. It would require the research supplement to be expressed as a percentage of the levy and not to exceed 1 percent.
• Clause 1(2) provides details of the uses and functioning of the research supplement. Regulations would include details of the provision of financial assistance for research into mesothelioma to be applied by way of grants or other financial assistance and require the scheme administrator to make arrangements for the application of the research supplement.
• Clause 1(2) requires the Secretary of State to consult with insurers, medical charities and research foundations, and other persons or bodies who the Secretary of State thinks might be interested, prior to making any regulations regarding the research supplement.

The Bill is identical to the Mesothelioma (Amendment) Bill 2014–15, a private member’s bill introduced by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 17 July 2014; the Bill did not received a second reading.