Bill would have made insurers liable for NHS treatment costs

lung disease asbestos asbestosis mesothelioma

A vote on a bill aimed at recovering from insurers the costs of treating Welsh asbestos sufferers has been delayed, the BBC reports.

The vote has been postponed until the middle of July with Labour’s Mick Antoniw, the assembly member behind the bill, blaming “technical reasons” for the delay to the vote that was meant to take place last Wednesday.

The bill would have made insurers covering sufferers of asbestos-related diseases liable for the costs of treatment on the NHS, but the ability of the assembly to pass the bill has been questioned.

The ABI has raised “serious concerns” with the secretary of state for Wales and presiding officer Rosemary Butler, who certified last December that the Assembly could pass the bill.

The ABI has said that clause 15 relates to financial services and insurance, and is not contained in the assembly’s powers. The association also says that any passing of the bill would grant ministers in Wales “a general tax-raising power” which is currently outside the devolution agreement.

The bill is now set to be put to vote on 10 July.

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