Corporate report

Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme annual statistics April 2014 to March 2024

Published 27 November 2024

Overview

The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS) was launched throughout the UK on 6 April 2014. It provides payments to eligible people diagnosed with Diffuse Mesothelioma (or their eligible dependents) who were negligently exposed to asbestos during a period of employment, but who are unable to take legal action to seek financial redress through the civil courts. The DMPS is paid for via a levy on the employers’ liability insurance industry.

Following a consultation process in June 2020, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) discontinued the release of Official Statistics for the DMPS. This report (together with accompanying tables) contains the same information as the previous Official Statistics but will be published each November with the DMPS Annual Review. These statistics include data relating to the DMPS including the number of applications received, success rates, and payments, from 01 April 2014 to 31 March 2024 inclusive.

Headline statistics

Date	Applications received
April 2023 to March 2024	405
April 2014 to March 2024	3,550

Date	Application success rate (excluding pending applications)
April 2023 to March 2024	75%
April 2014 to March 2024	68%

Date	Total amount paid
April 2023 to March 2024	£26.6m
April 2014 to March 2024	£304.7m

What you need to know

The DMPS was established under powers set out in the Mesothelioma Act 2014. It makes payments to people diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma on or after 25 July 2012 who contracted the disease as a result of negligent exposure to asbestos at work in the United Kingdom, and who are unable to claim damages because the employer no longer exists and the employer’s liability insurer cannot be traced. Payments can also be made to eligible dependents of those diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma who died from the disease before they could make an application to the Scheme.

The Scheme is funded by a levy on the insurance industry. To meet the full costs of the Scheme, regulations require active employers’ liability insurers to pay an annual levy based on their relative market share. This levy encompasses the capital payments made to applicants, administration costs, and costs associated with collecting the levy. The levy in 2023/24 was set at £27.3 million. The chart opposite shows the annual amount levied since the scheme began in 2014.

Statistics relating to the Scheme are currently released annually and are sourced from data originally collected by the Scheme Administrator appointed to act on behalf of the DWP. To reflect any updates, where possible, the full historical statistical series will be refreshed with each release, and so previous figures may be updated (for example, the historical series has been updated to show whether pending decisions have become successful or unsuccessful since the previous publication). Due to changes in Scheme Administrator from 1 April 2018 we have been unable to continue updating the historical series for the demographics and characteristics of applicants between April 2014 to March 2018. These figures therefore remain broadly the same as they were at the end of March 2018 but also include applications received by the new administrator prior to 1st April 2018.

Notes

• All the information underpinning the charts and figures featured in this summary is included in the accompanying excel tables.

• The data contained herein covers the period from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2024. It is acknowledged that the scheme did not open to receive applications until 6 April 2014.

• To avoid disclosing information about individual applicants, all volumes have been rounded to the nearest 5, percentages to the nearest 1 percent, total payments to the nearest £0.1 million, and average payments to the nearest £1000. Consequently, there may be slight discrepancies in total figures due to rounding.

Applications

Since 2014, 68% of applications where a decision has been reached have been successful.

In the year 01 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, 405 applications have been received. This is almost 23% more than in 2022/202. The number of applications received since 2014 is shown opposite.

In the year 01 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, on those applications where a decision has been reached, 75% have been successful, 19% unsuccessful and 6% withdrawn. The overall success rate since 2014 is 68%.

60% of the total number of applications received in the year 2023/24 were still pending a decision as of 31st March 2024. These pending applications are made up of those recently received and those where extra information is awaited before a decision can be made. In most cases, this extra information relates to ongoing enquiries to determine whether an alternative civil claim is possible.

In the last 12 months, 98% of applications required more information than was initially provided before a decision could be made. Where an applicant believes they are entitled to claim, early completion of the application is encouraged. The Scheme Administrator acknowledges receipt and holds the claim until all the necessary evidence is provided by the applicant. Some evidence can be more difficult to obtain - for example, when the applicant is attempting to trace ex-employers/employers’ liability insurers despite a significant amount of time having passed since their employment.

Applicants

The majority of applicants are males over the age of 65.

The vast majority of applicants (90% in the last 12 months and 91% overall since 2014) are male. This trend reflects those professions where exposure to asbestos, and therefore the risk of being diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma have been high – eg carpenters, plumbers, electricians, dockworkers, ship-builders and metal workers in the 1960’s and 70’s.

In 2023/24, the percentage of female applicants decreased to 10%. The highest percentage of female applicants occurred in 2021/22 at 12%.

There are no age restrictions on applicants, but the potential award amount depends on the age of the applicant at the date they were diagnosed. The 12 months to 31 March 2024 saw a decrease in applications received from those in the 80-84 age range from 23% in 2021/22 to 19% in 2022/23. In the year 2023/24, 86% of successful applicants were aged between 65 and 84. The percentage of successful applicants under 60 was 1% and the percentage over 85 was 11%.

Payments

Since April 2014, the scheme has awarded £304.7 million in compensation to 2,170 successful applicants.

Between April 2014 and February 2015, the Scheme regulations specified that successful applicants be paid an amount equivalent to 80% of the award that they could typically expect to have received had their claim been successfully pursued through the civil courts system.

In February 2015, the Scheme’s tariff payment was increased so that successful applicants who had been diagnosed either on or after 10th February 2015 were awarded 100% of the award that they could typically expect to have received had their claim been successfully pursued through the civil courts system.

The average (mean) payment made to successful applicants in the 12 months to March 2024 was £139,000.

During 2023/24, £26.6 million was paid out under the scheme to 191 applicants. This is an increase from the £23.2 million paid out in the year 2022/23 to 110 applicants.

Since April 2014, a total of £304.7 million has been paid out. This consists of £254.3 million of direct payments to applicants and £50.4 million which was repaid to the Department for Work and Pensions in respect of interim benefit payments previously made to the applicants.

Repayments to the Department for Work and Pensions are made in accordance with the well-established principle that an individual cannot receive money twice in respect of the same injury or disease. The responsibility to repay social security benefits rests with the person(s) who make the compensation payment (in this case the Scheme Administrator) and not the person diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma.

See Table 8 in the accompanying excel tables for full data.

Reviews and complaints

Since the scheme began in 2014, almost 23% of unsuccessful decisions have been reviewed.

If an applicant disagrees with the outcome of their claim, they may request that the scheme administrator reconsiders their application. When requesting a review, the applicant should outline the reasons they believe the decision was incorrect.

The application, including any new evidence supplied by the applicant, is reviewed by an assessor who did not issue the original decision.

If an applicant remains dissatisfied once the review has been completed, they may seek to have an independent appeal tribunal (known as the First Tier Tribunal or FTT) consider their case. If the applicant’s FTT application is unsuccessful, in certain circumstances they may apply to the FTT for permission to appeal to the Upper Tier Tribunal (UTT).

405 applications were received between April 2023 and March 2024. Decisions were made on 160 of these applications by the end of March 2024 of which 120 were successful, 30 were unsuccessful and 10 were withdrawn. In 2023/2024, a total of 95 applications were deemed unsuccessful, of which 20 applicants requested a review (equivalent to 21%) and 50% of the reviewed decisions resulted in the same outcome.

For comparison, in 2022/23, 330 applications were received. Decisions were made on 140 of these applications by the end of March 2024 of which 100 were successful, 35 were unsuccessful and 5 were withdrawn. In 2022/23, a total of 90 applications were deemed unsuccessful, of which 15 applicants requested a review (equivalent to 17%) and 33% of reviewed applications resulted in a different outcome. Decisions are often overturned when additional information is made available by the applicant to the Scheme Administrator.

In 2023/24, 5 decisions were appealed to the FTT. There has been one appeal to the UTT since 2019/20 and the appeal was unsuccessful.

There have been no official complaints made in 2023/24.

See Table 9 in the accompanying excel tables for full data.

Where to find out more

Useful links

More information about the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme from Top Mark Claims Management Ltd.

An overview of the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment scheme on GOV.UK.

See GOV.UK for previous publications of Diffuse Mesothelioma payment scheme statistics.

Other support groups

Organisation	Telephone	Website
Mesothelioma UK	Freephone helpline: 0800 169 2409	www.mesothelioma.uk.com
Asbestos Victims Support Groups’ Forum UK	Telephone: 01246 380 415	www.asbestosforum.org.uk
Macmillan Cancer Support	Freephone helpline: 0808 808 0000	www.macmillan.org.uk
Asthma + Lung UK	Helpline: 0300 222 5800	Asthma + Lung UK
Association of Personal Injury Lawyers	Telephone: 0115 943 5400	www.apil.org.uk

You can also get information and advice from any local Citizens Advice Bureau, local support groups and Trade Unions.

Feedback

We welcome feedback on the material provided with a view to improving future releases.

Please email caxtonhouse.dmps@dwp.gov.uk with any comments or suggestions.