The Mesothelioma Lump Sum Payments (Conditions and Amounts) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2026, published on legislation.gov.uk as S.I. 2026/1148, were made on 30 October 2026 and came into force the following day. Signed by DWP minister Stephen Timms, the instrument amends the Mesothelioma Lump Sum Payments (Conditions and Amounts) Regulations 2008 made under the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008. The explanatory note says the amendment has two purposes. It aligns dependant payment rates with the rates payable to people with diffuse mesothelioma, and it clarifies who can receive money where the person who made the claim dies before the award is paid.
The first change sits in the Schedule to the 2008 regulations. Regulation 4 substitutes Table 2, the part of the scheme that sets the awards for dependants. The accompanying note states that the revised table brings dependant rates into line with the rates for people with diffuse mesothelioma themselves. That change is not open-ended. Regulation 1(2) states that the revised dependant rates apply only where the sufferer dies on or after 31 October 2026 and had diffuse mesothelioma immediately before death. In practice, the date of death is the key gateway for any dependant seeking the higher rate.
The second change is procedural, but it is directly relevant in live claims. New regulation 5A provides that where a claim has been made and the claimant dies before payment is made, the lump sum must be paid to the person's personal representatives once the required estate documents have been provided to the Secretary of State. The regulation specifies what will count as sufficient evidence. In England and Wales that will be probate of the will or letters of administration of the estate, while in Scotland it will be confirmation as executor. The drafting gives decision-makers and families a clearer route for releasing an award that has been claimed but not yet paid.
For households affected by diffuse mesothelioma, the amendment addresses two practical problems at once. First, it removes the difference between awards paid to sufferers and awards paid to dependants, at least for deaths falling on or after the commencement date. Secondly, it confirms that an unpaid award does not stop with the claimant's death if the estate can produce the relevant legal authority. That matters because these claims often arise in severe and time-sensitive circumstances. A short instrument can still have a practical effect if it changes the amount payable and removes uncertainty over who may receive the money when a claim is already in train.
The legal basis is set out on the face of the instrument. The Secretary of State used powers in sections 46(3), 53(1) and 53(2)(b) of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008. Under section 53(3), a draft had to be laid before and approved by each House of Parliament before the regulations could be made. Regulation 1(3) states that the instrument extends to England and Wales and Scotland. The explanatory material also notes that the 2008 regulations were previously amended by S.I. 2026/377, and that no full impact assessment has been produced because the measure concerns DWP financial assistance and falls outside the Better Regulation Framework.
For advisers, executors and welfare rights teams, the operational points are straightforward. Any dependant case now turns in part on whether the sufferer died on or after 31 October 2026, while any unpaid claim following the claimant's death will need the correct estate paperwork before DWP can release funds. Taken together, the changes are modest in drafting but important in effect. They update the 2008 mesothelioma payment scheme without recasting it, and they give affected families more certainty on both award levels and the route by which payment can be made.