New Asbestos bill passed into law by the Welsh Assembly
The Welsh Assembly has passed the Recovery of Medical Costs for Asbestos Diseases (Wales) Bill into law. The new law will allow the Welsh government to recover the costs of NHS treatment for asbestos sufferers from those businesses causing the disease, once a claim has been settled.
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These funds will be used for the benefit of asbestos disease sufferers. For instance, they might be used to fund new lung cancer nurse posts, rather than subsidising general NHS expenditure. There will be some interesting issues for those living in Wales but exposed in England, and vice versa. But we welcome this step to increase the help that is available for asbestos disease sufferers, and welcome the fact that "the polluter pays"
You can read more about this story on the BBC website