Ian Lavery – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons a levy of at least three per cent of gross working premium on insurers to fund the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments Scheme has not yet been introduced.

Justin Tomlinson

The Mesothelioma Act (2014) requires active insurers to pay a levy with a view to meeting the costs of the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS) each year.

The 3% figure was the maximum percentage of the active employers’ liability insurance market to be levied on the insurance industry to recoup the costs of the scheme in any one year. This figure is a cap rather than a set rate. Each year the levy rate is calculated using the costs of the DMPS so far in that financial year, extrapolated to cover the remainder of the period. As this is a demand led scheme, the calculations for the levy are done afresh each year. An upturn in applications to the Scheme would result in a higher levy rate in future years.