This page covers four government benefit and lump-sum routes relevant to asbestos disease. It uses DWP’s published scheme figures, current benefit guidance and ministerial evidence to Parliament. Each route has its own eligibility conditions, and the figures describe different groups and periods; they are not a count of unique people compensated for asbestos exposure.
The figures below concern payments and benefit assessments. Disease incidence and deaths are different measures, covered on our UK asbestos statistics and asbestosis statistics pages. A person may appear in more than one compensation dataset.
Key asbestos compensation facts and figures
- £30.4 million was paid by the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS) to 220 successful applicants in 2024/25, up from £26.6 million to 190 in 2023/24.
- £137,000 was the average (mean) DMPS payment in the 12 months to March 2025.
- £335.1 million was the cumulative DMPS payment total for 2,290 successful applicants from April 2014 to March 2025, including benefits recovered for DWP.
- £51.6 million was spent on the 1979 Act and 2008 scheme combined in 2024/25. The 1979 Act also covers dust diseases unrelated to asbestos.
- 2,540 + 610 awards were made in 2024/25 under the 1979 Act scheme and the 2008 scheme respectively (Hansard, March 2026).
- £18,733 to £120,566 is the current payment range under the 2008 mesothelioma scheme, depending on age at diagnosis.
- 3.8% uprating raised both lump-sum schemes' rates from 1 April 2026, in line with September 2025 CPI.
- £24 million was the DMPS levy on employers’ liability insurers for 2025/26, announced in January 2026; the previous year’s levy was £28.6 million.
Reviewed on 15 October 2026. The latest DMPS annual figures cover 2024/25 and were published in November 2025; current benefit and lump-sum rates are for 2026/27. Historical totals are labelled to their reporting date.
How do the four UK asbestos compensation schemes fit together?
These four routes provide different forms of support. IIDB does not depend on an employer having ceased trading; the lump-sum schemes have additional conditions. The table summarises their roles, but applicants should check the detailed eligibility rules and time limits promptly.
| Scheme | What it is | Type of payment |
|---|---|---|
| IIDB | Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit — the state disability benefit for a disease caused by employment | Weekly benefit |
| 1979 Act | Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979 — for asbestos diseases where the employer no longer exists to be sued | One-off lump sum |
| 2008 scheme | Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme (2008) — for mesothelioma sufferers who fall outside the 1979 Act (e.g. non-occupational exposure) | One-off lump sum |
| DMPS (2014) | Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme — the "last resort" fund for mesothelioma where no liable employer or insurer can be traced | One-off lump sum |
IIDB is available for prescribed diseases linked to qualifying employed work; it does not cover self-employment or service in HM Forces. The 1979 Act scheme has separate conditions, including relevant IIDB entitlement and restrictions concerning former employers and civil damages. The 2008 scheme can cover qualifying mesothelioma cases outside the 1979 Act, including some non-occupational exposure. DMPS concerns negligent UK employment exposure, diagnosis on or after 25 July 2012 and an untraceable employer or insurer. Recovery and offset rules mean the full payments cannot simply be stacked together.
One important boundary: the compensation available to armed-forces veterans through the War Pension Scheme and the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme is a separate system and is covered on our veterans and asbestos statistics page, not here.
How much does the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme pay out?
The DMPS paid £30.4 million to 220 successful applicants in 2024/25, at an average (mean) payment of £137,000. That was up from £26.6 million paid to 190 applicants in 2023/24, continuing the upward drift in both the number of awards and the total spend. The DMPS is the newest of the four schemes, established under the Mesothelioma Act 2014 to compensate people diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma who were negligently exposed at work but cannot trace the employer or the employer's liability insurer to sue — a genuinely common problem given the decades between exposure and diagnosis.
From April 2014 to March 2025, DMPS paid £335.1 million for 2,290 successful applicants. This comprised £277.9 million paid directly to applicants and £57.2 million recovered for DWP in respect of relevant benefits and lump sums. These are cumulative figures to March 2025, rather than a current annual total.
| DMPS measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Total paid to applicants | £26.6m | £30.4m |
| Successful applicants | 190 | 220 |
| Average (mean) payment | — | £137,000 |
| Levy on EL insurers | — | £28.6m |
How many DMPS claims are made, and how many succeed?
DWP records 395 applications received in 2024/25 and 3,940 between April 2014 and March 2025. Across that full period, 68% of applications with a known outcome were successful. Pending applications are excluded from that percentage, so it should not be interpreted as the result of all applications received in one year. Eligibility depends on diagnosis, employment exposure and the inability to trace a liable employer or insurer.
In the published 2024/25 data, 89% of applicants were male and 80% of successful applicants were aged 65 to 84 at diagnosis. Eligible dependants can apply where the person died before applying or before a decision, but these figures do not establish what proportion of payments went to dependants.
How much do the 1979 Act and 2008 lump-sum schemes pay?
Expenditure on lump-sum awards under the 1979 Pneumoconiosis Act and the 2008 mesothelioma scheme totalled £51.6 million in 2024/25, across 2,540 awards under the 1979 Act and 610 under the 2008 scheme. These are the older lump-sum routes that sit alongside the DMPS. The 1979 Act covers a range of dust-related diseases including asbestosis, diffuse pleural thickening and mesothelioma where the responsible employer has ceased trading; the 2008 scheme was created specifically to reach diffuse mesothelioma sufferers who fall outside the 1979 Act, such as those exposed outside the workplace.
In 2024/25, the reported mean payment under the 1979 Act was £14,700 to sufferers and £11,500 to dependants. The corresponding 2008 scheme averages were £26,600 and £8,500. These are averages of awards made that year, not the tariff available to every new applicant.
| Scheme (2024/25) | Awards | Avg — sufferer | Avg — dependant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 Pneumoconiosis Act | 2,540 | £14,700 | £11,500 |
| 2008 mesothelioma scheme | 610 | £26,600 | £8,500 |
What are the current asbestos compensation payment rates?
For a person claiming under the 2008 mesothelioma scheme, the 2026/27 age-based amounts range from £18,733 at diagnosis age 77 or over to £120,566 at age 37 or under. Dependants have a separate tariff. The 1979 Act tariff also takes account of assessed disablement where applicable, so it should not be treated as identical to the 2008 scheme.
Both lump-sum schemes' rates rose by 3.8% from 1 April 2026, in line with the September 2025 Consumer Prices Index. Uprating is not automatic in law — it requires fresh regulations each year, laid as a statutory instrument and debated in both Houses — but in recent years the government has consistently applied the September CPI figure to keep the tariffs broadly in step with inflation. The rate that applies to a claim is fixed at the point entitlement first arises, so the date of diagnosis and claim matters.
How many asbestos IIDB claims are paid, and how much is the benefit?
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit pays up to £233.90 a week at 100% assessed disablement in 2026/27. HSE records 1,680 new mesothelioma assessments in 2024, compared with 1,605 in 2023. The weekly benefit is distinct from the lump sums above and depends on DWP’s disease, employment and disablement rules.
The IIDB "new cases assessed" count is best read here as a measure of claims volume rather than of disease burden — the underlying incidence and mortality figures belong on the disease-statistics pages. Even so, the trend in assessments is a useful barometer of how many people are entering the compensation system each year. It rose from 1,605 mesothelioma assessments in 2023 to 1,680 in 2024, of which 195 were female. Because IIDB assessments, lump-sum awards and DMPS payments each count different things, they should never be added together to produce a single "number of asbestos claims" — a person may appear in more than one.
Who pays for asbestos compensation — the taxpayer or industry?
DMPS is funded by a levy on active employers’ liability insurers. The levy was £28.6 million for 2024/25 and £24 million for 2025/26. The 1979 Act scheme, 2008 scheme and IIDB are funded through public expenditure. The annual levy covers scheme payments and administration and can reflect a surplus from the previous year.
For the government-funded schemes, DWP's Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) reclaims benefits and lump sums out of any civil compensation a claimant later recovers for the same disease, so the state is partly reimbursed where a civil route does eventually succeed. That recovery mechanism is why the DMPS cumulative total splits into the £277.9 million paid to applicants and the £57.2 million recovered back to DWP — the schemes are engineered to avoid double compensation from public funds.
How do government payments compare with civil compensation?
DMPS uses an age-based tariff informed by average civil compensation. Its tariff was increased by 2025 regulations; the £137,000 mean reported for 2024/25 therefore describes earlier awards, not a promised payment under the current tariff. An individual civil claim can differ substantially according to the evidence and circumstances.
The £30.4 million DMPS total and £51.6 million combined 1979 Act/2008 scheme expenditure describe different payment routes in 2024/25. The latter includes non-asbestos dust diseases, while recoveries can connect payments across schemes. Their sum should not be presented as a precise total of asbestos compensation reaching unique claimants.
Frequently asked questions
How much compensation do people with mesothelioma get from UK government schemes?
It depends on the scheme. The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme paid an average of £137,000 per successful applicant in 2024/25. The older 2008 mesothelioma lump-sum scheme pays a fixed tariff from £18,733 (diagnosed at 77 or over) up to £120,566 (diagnosed at 37 or under), and averaged £26,600 to sufferers in 2024/25. Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit is a separate weekly payment of up to £233.90 (2026/27) rather than a lump sum.
How many asbestos compensation claims are paid in the UK each year?
In 2024/25 there were 220 successful applicants paid by DMPS, 2,540 awards under the 1979 Act and 610 under the 2008 scheme. Separately, HSE records 1,680 new mesothelioma IIDB assessments in calendar 2024. The 1979 Act includes non-asbestos diseases, and the datasets overlap, so these figures cannot be added into one asbestos claimant total.
Who pays for the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme?
The employers’ liability insurance industry funds DMPS through an annual levy. This was £24 million for 2025/26, compared with £28.6 million for 2024/25. The levy funds the scheme’s compensation and administration costs.
When do asbestos compensation payment rates change?
The lump-sum tariffs are normally uprated once a year, taking effect from 1 April, via regulations debated in Parliament each February and March. The most recent increase was 3.8% from 1 April 2026, in line with September 2025 CPI. IIDB weekly rates are uprated on the usual benefit timetable in April, and the DMPS publishes fresh annual statistics each November or December.
What is the difference between the 1979 Act scheme and the DMPS?
The 1979 Pneumoconiosis Act scheme is an older lump-sum route covering several dust diseases where the responsible employer has ceased trading, and it pays a relatively modest age-graded tariff. The DMPS, created in 2014, is specific to diffuse mesothelioma and pays a much higher, near-civil-level sum — an average of £137,000 in 2024/25 — funded by an insurance-industry levy rather than public expenditure.
Behind every one of these payments is an exposure that happened decades ago, on a worksite where the risk was not managed. The training that prevents the next generation of claims is our CPD-certified Asbestos Awareness Course, which covers the duties set out in Regulation 10 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.
Every claim in these statistics traces back to an exposure that could have been prevented. Make sure your team can recognise asbestos before they disturb it.
Explore the Asbestos Awareness Course →Related guides
- Asbestos Statistics UK: Deaths, Exposure & Key Facts
- Asbestosis Statistics UK: Deaths, IIDB Cases & Trends
- Veterans & Asbestos Statistics UK
- What to do if you've been exposed to asbestos
- The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 explained
Sources & references
- DWP: DMPS applications and payments to March 2025
- DWP: eligibility, recovery rules and tariff review
- DWP: £24 million levy for 2025/26
- Parliament: 2024/25 awards and 2026 uprating
- GOV.UK: current 2008 scheme payment rates
- GOV.UK: current IIDB weekly rates
- DWP: IIDB eligibility
- DMPS: 2025 tariff amendment
- HSE: asbestos-related disease assessments, 2026
Mark writes about workplace health & safety, asbestos awareness and accredited online training for Asbestos Awareness Course, part of Online CPD Academy.