Ipswich MP welcomes fairer compensation for asbestos families

Why it matters: Under the current system, families who lose a loved one to diseases such as mesothelioma and pneumoconiosis receive a reduced compensation payment compared with sufferers themselves – a gap the Ipswich MP has long campaigned to close.

The details: Workers who develop asbestos-related and dust-related diseases through their job can claim a one-off Government payment if they have not already secured compensation from their employer, often because the firm responsible has since gone out of business.

• On average, sufferers receive £17,700, while dependants currently receive £10,700 – a shortfall of £7,000.
• In 2025, 2,730 sufferers received an award, alongside 300 awards paid to bereaved families at the lower rate.
• Under the new legislation, laid in Parliament, dependants will receive the same rate as sufferers in full.

The changes will also simplify how awards are calculated, removing outdated top-up payments and introducing a single award structure, ending confusion caused by rules referring to Pneumoconiosis Medical Boards, which stopped operating years ago.

What they're saying: Jack Abbott MP, Member of Parliament for Ipswich, said: "Having campaigned on asbestos-related issues for many years, I have seen the devastating impact these diseases can have on families.

"For too long, grieving families, already enduring the loss of a loved one, have not received the support they deserve. That is wrong on so many levels.

"These new measures will put a stop to this grave injustice, so bereaved families can finally access the compensation they are entitled to."

Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, said: "Families who have lost a loved one to a disease caused by their work deserve our support, not a system that treats them as an afterthought.

"That's exactly what's been happening, and campaigners have been telling us for over a decade that it's wrong.

"Today we're fixing it. Fairer, simpler, clearer support for families, at an incredibly difficult time in their lives."

What's next: The draft regulations will come into force on 31 October 2026, subject to Parliamentary approval. The changes are expected to benefit dependants by between £2m and £6m annually.

The bottom line: After years of campaigning to close the gap, Ipswich's MP says bereaved families will no longer be penalised twice – first by their loss, then by an unfair compensation system.

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