The Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 ("the Act") received royal assent on 5 June 2008. The Act will unable extends the categories of person to whom lump sum payments for mesothelioma can be made to provide fast financial support to people who were previously not eligible for payment under the Pneumoconiosis Etc (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979 compensation scheme. Previously, only individuals exposed to asbestos dust at work were able to claim lump sum payments under the scheme.
The Act introduces a compensation recovery process, allowing lump sum payments to be recovered from any subsequent civil compensation claim made in respect of the same person. Recovered funds will be used to fund the extension of mesothelioma lump sum payments to for example, people who were self employed or do not know how they came into contact with asbestos dust.
More details are available here.