On Wednesday, I took an SI through the House of Commons that will uprate the lump sum awards payable under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 and the diffuse mesothelioma payment scheme, which was established by the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008.
These two schemes stand apart from the main social security benefits uprating procedure, which took place on Monday in the House. However, through these statutory instruments that I presented to Parliament, we will increase the amounts payable by the September 2022 consumer prices index of 10.1%. This is the same rate that is being applied to industrial injuries disablement benefit and other disability benefits under the main social security uprating provisions, and will be paid to those who satisfy the conditions of entitlement for the first time from April.
This is the right thing to do; recognising the tremendous suffering of individuals and their families caused by the serious and often fatal diseases resulting from exposure to asbestos or other listed agents, and something which I know is important to a number of families in our area. You can see the session, here: https://tinyurl.com/4ueh7rcr .