Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what amount has been taken from the benefits recovered by the Compensation Recoveries Unit to subsidise the cost of the levy under the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments scheme in the first year of its operation.

The levy rate has been set to recover the estimated net cost of the first year of the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme, including administration costs but excluding the amount expected to be recovered by the Department’s Compensation Recovery Unit. The figures used to calculate the levy are early estimates based on data from only seven months operation of the Scheme, but at this stage around 20% of the payment due under the tariff is being recovered.