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Some bills of 15 revealed in Queens’s speech at a glance (9 May 2013)

Date: 09/05/2013
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Some bills of 15 revealed in Queens’s speech at a glance

The victims of mesothelioma who cannot trace their employer or employer’s insurance company could be eligible to receive up to £355m in compensation payments over the next 10 years as a result of a bill in Queen’s speech.

The Mesothelioma Bill would impose a levy on employer’s liability insurers to create a scheme of last resort for around 3,500 sufferers across the UK.

A spokeswoman for Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) which campaigned for an Employer’s Liability Insurers’ Bureau said that the bill had delivered some but not all of what it wanted.

This scheme would be applicable only to people who are diagnosed with mesothelioma from the 25 July 2012 and not apply to other asbestos – related conditions.

Helen Grant the justice minister has said just before Christmas that the government wanted to introduce a portal for mesothelioma claims. As part of the consultation, Grant said the government would carry out the review required under section 48 of LASPO on the impact of abolishing recoverability of success fees and insurance premiums in this area.

The personal injury lawyer heading the asbestos related disease team has said that the scheme in the bill could only provide people with 70 per cent of the average compensation for mesothelioma.

An Intellectual Property Bill also features in the Queen's Speech, responding to the recommendations of the Hargreaves Review. The bill would set up the Unified Patent Court, creating a single patent system across EU countries apart from Italy and Spain.
Bill designed to help firms protect their intellectual property by making offences punishable by up to 10 years in prison
Stealing registered designs and selling counterfeit products for profit will become a criminal offence punishable by up to 10 years in prison, the government's Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has announced.
The government said it would make it easier for business to understand what was protected, make ownership clearer and introduce a 'design-rights opinion service'.

Another bill is the draft Consumer Rights Bill which is meant to consolidate all the legislation on consumer rights in one place, including parts of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Sale of Goods Act 1979.

It would aim to provide "clarity in areas where the law has not kept up with technological advances" such as e-books and software.

The government's commitment to make forced marriage a criminal offence will be implemented by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill.

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