Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) (Payment of Claims) (Amendment) Regulations 2012
Debate between Lord Avebury and Lord De Mauley
Lord De Mauley
Noble Lords will know that improved health and safety procedures have now both restricted the use of asbestos and provided a safer environment for its handling. However, we are all aware of the legacy created by the common use of asbestos before its effects on people’s health were fully understood. The Government are confronting the results of that common practice by ensuring that financial compensation is available to those affected. Indeed, that is why both of these schemes were introduced.
It might help noble Lords if I briefly summarised the specific purpose of each scheme. The Pneumoconiosis etc (Workers Compensation) Act 1979, which for simplicity of pronunciation I shall abbreviate to the “1979 Act”, provides a lump sum compensation payment to those who suffer from one of the five dust-related respiratory diseases covered by the scheme and who are unable to claim damages from employers after they have gone out of business. In outline, the diseases covered are diffuse mesothelioma, bilateral diffuse pleural thickening, pneumoconiosis, byssinosis and primary carcinoma of the lung, if accompanied by asbestosis or bilateral diffuse pleural thickening. A claim can be made by a dependant if the sufferer has died before being able to make a claim.
A person who is injured or contracts an industrial disease as a result of their work may sue the employer for damages. However, the diseases covered by the 1979 Act are known as long-latency diseases as they take a long time to develop and may not be diagnosed for a very long time after exposure to the dust that caused the illness. This is particularly so for the asbestos-related diseases within the scheme, such as primary carcinoma of the lung or mesothelioma. In some cases, it may take up to 40 years between the original exposure and the linked disease. Given that length of time, noble Lords will not find it surprising that by the time diagnosis is made, the employer responsible may no longer exist. As a result, sufferers and their dependants can find it very difficult to undertake a successful civil action to obtain compensation and the 1979 Act was introduced to help such people.
The mesothelioma lump sum payments scheme was introduced under the last Government in 2008 to provide compensation to people who contracted mesothelioma but were unable to claim compensation under the 1979 Act because their exposure to asbestos was not due to their work or because the asbestos exposure was simply unidentified. Noble Lords may recall the case of the unfortunate woman who contracted mesothelioma from washing her husband’s work clothes. The 2008 scheme means that payments can be made urgently to mesothelioma sufferers at their time of greatest need. If a sufferer dies before making a claim, a 2008 scheme payment can be made to a dependent.
The annual incidence of mesothelioma continues to increase. There are currently over 2,300 deaths from the disease in men and women each year. When other asbestos-related deaths—mainly lung cancer and asbestosis—are added, it is likely that there are now over 4,000 asbestos-related deaths in total each year. While it is always difficult to forecast exact peaks, the latest available information suggests that mesothelioma deaths in men will continue to increase to a peak of around 2,100 deaths in 2016. It is more difficult to predict when deaths in women will peak but it is likely that this will occur after the peak in men, albeit at a lower level.
Payment levels under the 1979 Act scheme are based on the level of the disablement assessment and the age of the sufferer at the time that the disease is diagnosed. The highest amounts are paid to those who have been diagnosed at an early age and with the highest level of disablement. Under the 2008 scheme, as well as under the 1979 Act, all mesothelioma disablement assessments are made at the 100 per cent rate. This means that for someone suffering from mesothelioma the amount of payment under both schemes will vary only according to the age of the person at the time of diagnosis.
Over 50 per cent of claims under the 1979 Act are made in respect of mesothelioma, a particularly unpleasant and fatal disease, caused almost exclusively by exposure to asbestos. Those diagnosed with mesothelioma usually have a short life expectancy, generally between 12 and 18 months. It is common that the sufferer is severely disabled very soon after diagnosis. I am sure we all agree that no amount of money can ever compensate sufferers or their families for the damage caused by these diseases, but it is right that they receive financial compensation, and as quickly as possible. These regulations help ensure that the level of government compensation provided by both schemes maintains its value. I commend the increase of the payment scales to noble Lords and ask approval to implement them.
Lord Avebury
My Lords, I am most grateful to the Minister for his careful explanation of these two orders. There are one or two questions that I would like to put to him. First, he says that there is no statutory obligation to continue uprating these payments at the level that they have been in the past. I wonder what guarantee there is that, in the future, the percentage upratings that we are looking at now will continue to be maintained. If there is not any statutory obligation, how can the victims of these awful diseases come to the expectation that they will not be left in the lurch if there is some financial emergency and that, as with many other poor and vulnerable people, they will not be made to contribute some of the miserable pittance that they are awarded towards the repayment of the deficit that we all know is constantly in the Government’s mind?
My noble friend pointed to the legacy of these frightful diseases, which may continue to emerge for 40 years after the sufferer has first been in contact with the substance concerned, whether it be industrial dust or, in the case of mesothelioma, asbestos. Have the Government formed any estimate of the total cost of dealing with these diseases in terms of the compensation that will become available over the long tail that we expect to develop in the future? I was pleased to note from his speech that this peak will be reached for men in 2016, and for women a little bit later, but we know that thereafter sufferers will continue to emerge and some 60,000 of them are expected to be discovered at some point in the future.
Lord Avebury
Could I ask the noble Lord a question put to him earlier? As he knows, there is still a large gap between the payments to living victims of mesothelioma and those made to their estates after they have died. For example, the payment to a sufferer aged 67 is £17,416, while the payment to his dependants if he dies at that age is only £7,915. There is still an enormous gap between these two figures. There was a commitment by the previous Government to reduce and, over a period, to eliminate this differential. Could my noble friend say whether it is the Government’s policy to continue with that diminution of the gap and, if so, whether there is any date by which they hope the process will be completed?
Lord De Mauley
My Lords, as I have made clear, there is an issue about the availability of resources. We think it is very important that they are targeted principally on sufferers of the disease, but we recognise the plight of dependants. That is why, under the previous Government, dependants’ amounts were increased by up to £5,000. If I can add to that from my notes I will do so, but I will possibly do so in writing, if I may.
When I came to the points of the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, I meant to thank him for his good wishes to my noble friend Lord Freud. I will send on his message. Closely allied to that is my thanks to him for letting me off the hook on a debate about CPI and RPI.
He also asked about progress on the employers’ liability insurance bureau. We understand the urgency of the situation. After all avenues have been exhausted, injured people are still unable to find an insurer to claim against. We are continuing to work hard to see what can be done for them, but I am not in a position to go further than that today.
The noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, asked about compensation recoveries forecast over the CSR period. We estimate compensation recoveries for 2012-13 as being in the region of £21.8 million. That is for both schemes. I will write with further information if I can find it.
Aerospace Industry
Debate between Lord Avebury and Lord De Mauley
Lord De Mauley
My Lords, that is a very important point and is a key focus of the aerospace growth partnership which I referred to in my initial Answer. The work that it is undertaking is addressing how we can make the UK aerospace supply chain more competitive, for example through improving our manufacturing processes and capabilities, ensuring that companies can access finance, increasing their ability to share risk with higher-tier suppliers and improving supply chain relationship management.
Lord Avebury
My Lords, can the Minister say what are the consequences of the sale of the Harriers to the United States? Will we have any work remaining in the maintenance and upkeep of the Harriers now that they have all gone to the US?
Lord De Mauley
My Lords, I cannot answer that question, but I very much hope so. I will write to my noble friend.
Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (Juxtaposed Controls) (Amendment) Order 2011
Debate between Lord Avebury and Lord De Mauley
Lord De Mauley
My Lords, I shall also speak to the Immigration (Provision of Physical Data) (Amendment) Regulations 2011.
We are committed to delivering a safe and secure set of Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. As part of this pledge the UK Border Agency will operate a proportionate level of its usual security checks on those taking part, supporting and helping to deliver the Olympic and Paralympic Games, who are commonly collectively referred to as Games family members. Games family members are athletes, coaches, support staff, umpires, technical staff, media personnel and other individuals associated with the Games. The regulations and order ensure that the UK Border Agency can indeed operate a proportionate level of its usual security checks on Games family members by amending respectively the Immigration (Provision of Physical Data) Regulations 2006 and the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (Juxtaposed Controls) Order 2003.
Before I set out why amendments to the 2006 regulations and 2003 order are required, perhaps I may provide your Lordships with some information about the UK Border Agency’s current use of fingerprints and facial images and the UK’s juxtaposed controls, and also perhaps ask for your Lordships’ patience, because what I have to say is quite detailed and of necessity rather lengthy.
Since 2008, aside from minor exceptions visa nationals have been obliged to provide their fingerprints and facial images when applying for a visa. The collected fingerprints are checked against government databases. Since November 2009 the UK Border Agency has checked the fingerprints of holders of UK-issued biometric visas, entry clearances and biometric residence permits at the UK border to be sure that the passenger seeking entry is the same person who made the application for which the biometrics were collected. The UK Border Agency also uses facial images to facilitate the secure entry of low-risk categories of passengers in to the UK via automated gates, easing their passage through the UK border and allowing agency staff to concentrate on higher-risk categories of passengers.
The agency also collects the fingerprints and facial images of persons already in the UK when they apply for leave to remain in certain categories, where required issuing biometric residence permits and application registration cards. The agency also collects the fingerprints and facial images of persons identified as being illegally present in the country.
By February 2011 the UK Border Agency and its partners have enrolled 8.5 million fingerprints, allowing the agency to match 50,000 people to previous immigration and asylum applications made in the UK and identify more than 6,500 people swapping their biographical details. The UK Border Agency’s use of fingerprints and facial images is therefore vital to assuring individuals’ identities, identifying fraud and securing the UK border.
Now, perhaps I may give some background on the UK’s juxtaposed immigration controls and why they are essential. The juxtaposed controls were first set up in respect of Eurotunnel for shuttle trains operating between Coquelles and Cheriton in 1994. They were then extended to Eurostar terminals in France and Belgium, in June 2001 and October 2004 respectively, to reduce the number of people arriving at Waterloo with inadequate travel documents. Then, in 2004, as part of the agreement to close the Sangatte Red Cross Centre, France agreed to allow the controls to be extended to cover Calais and other French sea ports serving Dover. These arrangements have allowed the UK to shift immigration controls that were historically operated in south-east England to France and Belgium. They have also permitted France and Belgium to operate reciprocal controls in the UK, although the Belgians have not sought to implement any. The French currently operate immigration controls at St Pancras, Ebbsfleet, Ashford, Cheriton and Dover.
The UK’s immigration procedures at the juxtaposed controls complement the immigration procedures of France and Belgium—both part of the Schengen area—and occur just before the passengers depart on the final stage of their journey to the UK. Individuals travelling to the UK via our juxtaposed controls have to seek permission to enter the UK at those juxtaposed controls rather than on arrival in the UK; those requiring leave to enter the UK, such as visa nationals, make their applications to UK Border Agency officers within the control zones of the ports.
The UK currently operates immigration controls in the French channel ports of Calais, Coquelles, Dunkirk and at Eurostar terminals at Calais-Fréthun, Paris-Gare du Nord, Lille and Brussels-Gare du Midi. We are able to exercise full examination powers at all the juxtaposed controls. Additionally, in Coquelles, UK authorities may undertake frontier controls, including customs, health, veterinary and other checks. The juxtaposed controls are vital to UK immigration procedures by allowing us to prevent inadmissible individuals arriving in the UK.
Now let me explain why the 2011 regulations and 2003 order are necessary. Games family members will be required to obtain accreditation for the Olympic or Paralympic Games before participating and will undergo a series of biographical security checks undertaken by the Home Office prior to being granted accreditation and receiving an Olympic or Paralympic identity and accreditation card. Due to commitments given as part of the host city contract for the Games, approximately 20,000 visa national Games family members who would normally require a visa to enter the UK and be required to supply their fingerprints and facial image as part of the visa application process will be able to use their Olympic or Paralympic identity and accreditation card in lieu of a visa during the accreditation period of the Games from 30 March 2012 to 8 November 2012. They will therefore not need to apply for a visa or provide their fingerprints and facial images to the UK Border Agency prior to travelling to the UK, thereby bypassing the fingerprint checks of the visa application process. The UK Border Agency therefore needs to be able to collect and check visa national Games family members’ fingerprints and facial images in the UK and at its juxtaposed controls to operate a proportionate level of its usual security checks on this group of people during the Games.
The UK Border Agency’s current powers to collect fingerprints and facial images in the UK and at our juxtaposed controls are limited and insufficient to collect such biometrics. The agency therefore requires a new power to enable their collection. The 2011 regulations provide this power by providing for the collection of a visa national Games family member’s fingerprints and facial image when they make an application for leave to enter or remain in the UK during the accreditation period of the Games. The 2011 order provides for the collection when a visa national Games family member makes a leave to enter application, as described by Regulation 2(c) of the 2011 regulations, at our juxtaposed controls in the ports of Calais, Boulogne and Dunkirk.
A similar amendment will be made in autumn 2011 to the Channel Tunnel (International Arrangements) Order 1993 and Channel Tunnel (Miscellaneous Provisions) Order 1994 allowing for the same type of collection at our juxtaposed controls at the Channel Tunnel terminal at Coquelles and at Eurostar terminals in Calais-Fréthun, Lille, Paris-Gare du Nord and Brussels-Gare du Midi. All nationals except British citizens, nationals of other European Economic Area countries, those with a right of abode or who are otherwise exempt from immigration control, are required to apply for leave lawfully to enter or stay in the UK. They seek such leave by either applying for leave to enter on arrival to a UK Border Agency officer at the border controls of UK ports, in the UK control zones of the UK’s juxtaposed controls, or if they are already in the UK by making an application for leave to remain.
Linking the collection to an application for leave to enter or remain is therefore the most effective way for the UK Border Agency to collect visa national Games family members’ fingerprints and facial images. In reality the UK Border Agency will only use the 2011 regulations and 2011 order to collect the fingerprints and facial images of visa national Games family members that it does not already hold. Those who are identified as having previously provided their fingerprints and facial images to the UK Border Agency will not have them collected again on arrival in the UK or at the UK’s juxtaposed controls. I hope that noble Lords will unite with me to support these provisions, which will help to deliver a safe and secure set of Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Lord Avebury
My Lords, we are very grateful to the Minister for his careful explanation of the provisions of these statutory instruments, which deal with the immigration arrangements for the 22,000 expected Olympic and Paralympic accredited contestants and their so-called family members, the categories of which he has enumerated, who will be arriving in the UK during the period from March to November 2012. I just want to be absolutely clear that Games family members actually include the family of the contestants. I should be grateful if the Minister will say when he replies that that is so, and that contestants can bring a spouse and children under these arrangements.
As the Minister has explained, the accreditation is by means of a card issued by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee through their contractor ATOS, but the necessary security and immigration checks are to be conducted by UKBA. They will know whether an applicant is recorded on their system as having ever been in breach of our immigration rules, and I ask my noble friend what they will do if a GFM—or, even more sensitive, an athlete—is flagged up by this check. What other checks will the UKBA undertake to confirm that an applicant for accreditation is not a threat to security or a person whose presence in the country would not be conducive to the public good?
Athletes and GFMs who are visa nationals and in possession of an accreditation card will not generally need a visa to enter the UK, as the Minister has explained; but according to the Explanatory Memorandum, there are 2,000 who will still have to apply for a visa in their countries of origin. Will the Minister explain who are these people, and is the position absolutely clear to them, so that we do not get them turning up at a port of entry thinking that they can get in with just the accreditation card? For the remaining 20,000 visa national athletes and GFMs, the accreditation card allows the holder to enter the UK without a visa but these statutory instruments, as the Minister has explained, permit the UKBA to take their biometrics at the port of entry instead of in the country of origin as would normally be the case. That comes into operation at the beginning of the period on 12 March next year.
There may still be some customer resistance to giving biometrics at the port of entry when the Government say that they are facilitating the entry of Olympians and their entourages, even though LOCOG says that it does not object to the process provided that it is communicated very clearly to the applicants in advance. I respectfully suggest that LOCOG cannot be certain that people will not still complain, but there might be one way of reducing the numbers affected. There is a special visa to be created which allows for a longer stay, enabling the contestants and GFMs to come here in advance for training and acclimatisation. Applicants will then be asked to give their biometrics overseas, as non-Olympian visa nationals already have to do. The Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association has suggested that the uptake would be increased if the special visas were free, but the UKBA has not taken up the idea. What is being charged for the extended visas, and has any estimate been made of the extra spending that would be generated in the UK by making the visas free, to offset the loss of revenue that would arise from waiving the fees?
Immigration: Brook House
Debate between Lord Avebury and Lord De Mauley
Lord Avebury
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons on the management of Brook House immigration removal centre.
Lord De Mauley
My Lords, the Government accept the broad conclusions of the chief inspector's report, and we have acted swiftly to implement most of the recommended improvements. It is a fact that the vast majority of detainees in Brook House have committed very serious crimes, including involving drugs, sex and violence. We are absolutely committed to meeting the challenges posed by these detainees, and additional improvements will be made in coming months. We will respond to the report in mid-September.
Lord Avebury
My Lords, perhaps my noble friend would like to join me in thanking Dame Anne Owers for her nine years of sterling work highlighting inconvenient truths about prisons and detention centres. Unfortunately, those years end today. Considering that it costs more to keep a detainee in a removal centre than in prison and far more than it does to send a boy to Eton, will my noble friend consider granting temporary admission to the detainees who cannot be sent back to their countries of origin, such as the 27 Somalis and Zimbabweans in Brook House who are costing more than £1 million to accommodate every year? Will the Government also think about suspending plans for four new immigration removal centres by taking steps to halt the rise in the detainee population, such as the improvements in the bail system recommended in the Bail for Immigration Detainees report published today?