Oral Answers to Questions

William Bain Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

We are, of course, at the preferred bidder stage. Clearly, the issue is under discussion and it will need to be addressed. I will give further information to the House in due course. We should also remember that people in public life are sometimes married to other people in public life. Simply put, I hope that the Ministry of Justice, were it to fall under the leadership of a Labour Government, would not be disadvantaged by the fact that the putative Home Secretary is married to the putative Chancellor of the Exchequer. We have to consider these things very carefully and deal with them in a mature and sensible way, and we will seek to do that.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

6. What steps his Department is taking to ensure that the compensation claims of mesothelioma sufferers are handled fairly.

[Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

11. What steps his Department is taking to ensure that the compensation claims of mesothelioma sufferers are handled fairly.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara)]

We continue to work with stakeholders to see how we can improve the claims process for these tragic cases.

[Mr Bain]

Mesothelioma is an horrific industrial disease and its victims deserve much better than the shameful way in which they have been treated by this Government, with their botched consultations, prevarications and delays. Will the Minister, on behalf of the Lord Chancellor, confirm that he will not waste any more taxpayers’ money in further appealing the recent damning judicial review ruling made against his Department?

[Mr Vara]

We will certainly consider the way forward on that, but I will take no lectures from the hon. Gentleman on what we have done. This Government are putting provisions into the Deregulation Bill that will enable Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to provide information to legal representatives without a court order. We are liaising with the national cancer registration service and others to allow expedited access to medical notes. We also introduced the Mesothelioma Act 2014, which again benefits sufferers and victims. I will not take any lectures from him on that front.