A scheme to compensate victims of asbestos cancer will not come into force for two years, so many will die before receiving any money, the government is being warned.
Lawyers and campaigners who have fought a long battle to get compensation for asbestos victims are also angry that the scheme, which will pay compensation in cases where employers' liability insurance cannot be traced, only benefits claimants suffering from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma. Those suffering from asbestosis, pleural thickening and asbestos-related lung cancer – which campaigners say constitute 50% of all asbestos diseases – are excluded from the scheme, which applies only to people who have been diagnosed as suffering from mesothelioma since 25 July this year.
"We are bitterly disappointed at the exclusion," said Tony Whitston, chairman of the Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum, which accused the government of giving in to "rich and powerful insurers". Patrick Walsh, a solicitor with Pannone, who represents victims of industrial disease, estimated that around 2,500 people a year could be helped by the scheme. But he warned: "The scheme won't be effective for two years and the average life expectancy of someone with mesothelioma is nine to 12 months. They will die before the scheme comes into force."
It is estimated that the scheme will see insurers pay out £300m over the next 10 years as the number of mesothelioma cases peaks in around 2015 and then starts to drop off. "It's a classic case of producing something so they can tick a box and say they have done something about it," Walsh said. "But the many people who, through no fault of their own, have not been able to trace insurers have no redress."
Whitston said: "It would cost less than 20% more to provide cover for all asbestos victims." Asbestos diseases can take up to 30 to 40 years to develop. As a result, many employers are no longer trading when a claim for compensation is made, leaving victims to rely on their insurers who, in around 10% of cases, cannot be traced.
"I worked all my life as a heating engineer, constantly exposed to asbestos, and I now suffer from asbestosis, which has seriously affected my breathing," said Frank Hill. "I could only trace the insurers for part of my employment, so I have only received part of the compensation due to me."
A state-run compensation scheme will continue to pay victims lump sum payments in lieu of civil compensation, but campaigners say these will be worth only a tenth of what is available under the new scheme.
Privately, officials from the Department for Work and Pensions hold out the prospect that the scheme might be expanded in the future to include more victims of asbestos-related illnesses. However, proving the link between these diseases and asbestos is more complex than establishing its links with mesothelioma.
Work and pensions minister Lord Freud said that the new scheme will cut bureaucracy and speed up claims from mesothelioma victims. "We have taken urgent action to ensure that people suffering from the devastating disease get the help they have long been denied," Freud said. "The new scheme will correct an awful deficiency and will significantly cut the bureaucracy victims face."
