Sufferers of a deadly industrial disease in England and Wales are to be supported by faster legal processes under proposals announced by Courts Minister Helen Grant.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has welcomed the announcement in the Queen’s Speech that people with the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma in the UK will get more financial help under a package of measures in the Mesothelioma Bill. This will include support for up to 3,000 sufferers who currently go un-compensated, and a more streamlined system to speed up the claims process.

Staffordshire County Council and a refurbishment firm have been fined for exposing a nursery class, school staff and two joiners to asbestos fibres.

The announcement that the government is to make compensation claims easier for the thousands of people who have mesothelioma - as a result of asbestos exposure at work - but who until now have been unable to claim because their employer no longer exists, has been welcomed by the TUC.

Asbestos victims are still dying without legal redress, two years after the Government finished consulting on plans to set up an insurance fund to help them.