“These amendments can only be considered as positive measures,” Communities Minister Gordon Lyons told the Assembly committee as Stormont began work on a fresh set of rules for Northern Ireland’s pneumoconiosis compensation scheme. The rule, S.R. 2026 No. 170, was made on 5 October 2026, still needs Assembly backing under the affirmative procedure, and is due to take effect on 31 October 2026 or the day after approval if that comes later. (niassembly.gov.uk) For families dealing with industrial lung disease, that makes this more than a paper exercise. The Assembly’s Committee for Communities has the measure listed as a proposed statutory rule in progress, with public submissions open until 14 October 2026 while MLAs work through the detail. (niassembly.gov.uk)

The scheme itself is long-established. Under the 1979 order, lump-sum payments can be made to people disabled by certain dust-related diseases, and to dependants where the sufferer has died. NIDirect says eligible conditions include pneumoconiosis, byssinosis, diffuse mesothelioma, bilateral diffuse pleural thickening and some asbestos-related lung cancers, provided the disease was caused by employment and the other claim conditions are met. (niassembly.gov.uk) What is changing now is the payment rulebook rather than the existence of the scheme. The Department for Communities says the amendments remove references to defunct assessment boards, set awards by a single table, scrap top-up payments, create a clear date for calculating awards and spell out who should receive the money if a claimant dies before payment is made. (niassembly.gov.uk)

The sharpest change is for bereaved families. In its explanatory memorandum, the Department says dependant awards are currently lower than those paid to the worker, with extra payments layered on in some cases, and that the new rule would bring dependant rates into line with rates for sufferers. Officials say the aim is to remove a long-running disparity in the scheme. (niassembly.gov.uk) The figures in that memorandum show why the Department believes the old set-up had become hard to justify. In 2026-27, a worker aged 37 or under with 50 per cent disablement would receive £108,858, while a dependant of someone who died at that age and level of disablement would receive £62,743. At age 67 and 50 per cent disablement, the worker rate is £13,608 and the dependant rate is £10,387. (niassembly.gov.uk)

The Department is also trying to settle one of the murkier parts of the current system: which date fixes the value of an award. Under the new wording, a claim from a living sufferer will be valued using the claimant’s age, and the rate in force, on the day the Department receives the claim. For a dependant’s claim, the key date becomes the sufferer’s date of death. (niassembly.gov.uk) Another change deals with the grim reality that these cases often move alongside serious illness. A new regulation 4A says that where somebody makes a claim and dies before payment arrives, the award must be paid to their personal representatives once the Department has the right probate, administration or confirmation papers. (niassembly.gov.uk)

Not every case will be pulled into the new framework. The regulations apply only where entitlement first arises on or after the day they come into operation, and the Department says existing entitlements will continue under the current legislative set-up. (niassembly.gov.uk) There is also a clear political timetable behind the rush. Lyons asked the Committee for Communities to handle the SL1 in a shortened timeframe so Northern Ireland could move in step with a corresponding Great Britain instrument due to come into force on 31 October 2026, and the Department says matching that date would ensure people here benefit at the same time as claimants in Great Britain. (niassembly.gov.uk)

The Department’s own line is that the measure is technical, but it carries real weight for households already dealing with the cost of work-related lung disease. Officials say the changes should simplify a cluttered system, reduce the administrative burden and leave dependants better off overall, while a regulatory impact assessment was judged unnecessary because the rule does not impose costs on businesses, charities, social enterprises or voluntary bodies. (niassembly.gov.uk) Stormont now has a simple test in front of it: whether a legal tidy-up can also mean quicker, fairer payments for families who have already borne the damage of dangerous work. For now, the proposal remains live at the Assembly, with views invited until 14 October before it moves to the next stage. (niassembly.gov.uk)