Clause 58
Welfare Reform Bill
9:30 am
Danny Alexander (Shadow Minister and Disability Spokesperson, Work & Pensions; Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, Liberal Democrat)
I want not to tour through Labour party history, but to join the cross-party consensus on the importance of this clause, and the previous clause and schedule, to the righting of an injustice—in the system for a substantial period—against those unfortunate enough to be victims of mesothelioma.
I should be grateful if the Minister could clarify whether the clause will deal with something of particular concern to those campaigning on this issue. I wish to add to the Minister’s list the work of my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Paul Rowen), many of whose constituents suffer from mesothelioma. I hope that the implications of this clause are that compensation for the condition will be payable not only to the workers who were exposed to the particles that cause the horrendous disease, but to their wives, partners, civil partners and so forth, who may, for example, have taken in the particles while washing clothes or doing other household tasks.
Will the Minister clarify whether the coverage for partners, spouses and so forth will be on the same basis as that for the workers themselves? What would happen if a worker had already passed away, but their partner or spouse were suffering from the condition, which could be attributable to their late husband, wife or partner in respect of employment as defined under schedule 6?
With those few remarks and in a spirit of welcoming what the Government seek to do, I should be grateful if the Minister answered those brief points.