Corporate report

Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme annual statistics April 2014 to March 2025

Updated 4 December 2025

Overview

The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS) was launched throughout the UK on 6 April 2014. It provides payments to eligible people diagnosed with Diffuse Mesothelioma (or their eligible dependants) who were negligently exposed to asbestos during a period of employment, but who are unable to take legal action to seek financial redress through the civil courts. The DMPS is paid for via a levy on the employers’ liability insurance industry.

Following a consultation process in June 2020, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) discontinued the release of Official Statistics for the DMPS. This report (together with accompanying tables) contains the same information as the previous Official Statistics but will be published each November with the DMPS Annual Review. These statistics include data relating to the DMPS including the number of applications received, success rates, and payments, from 01 April 2014 to 31 March 2025 inclusive.

Headline statistics

Date	Applications received
April 2024 to March 2025	395
April 2014 to March 2025	3940

Date	Application success rate (Excluding pending applications)
April 2024 to March 2025	73%
April 2014 to March 2025	68%

Date	Total amount paid (£)
April 2024 to March 2025	30.4m
April 2014 to March 2025	335.1m

What you need to know

Annual Levy

Year	Levy (£ millions)
2016/2017	40.4
2017/2018	33.5
2018/2019	39.8
2019/2020	33.3
2020/2021	28.9
2021/2022	22
2022/2023	20.3
2023/2024	27.3
2024/2025	28.6

The DMPS was established under powers set out in the Mesothelioma Act 2014. It makes payments to people diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma on or after 25 July 2012 who contracted the disease because of negligent exposure to asbestos at work in the United Kingdom, and who are unable to claim damages because the employer no longer exists and the employer’s liability insurer cannot be traced. Payments can also be made to eligible dependants of those diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma who died from the disease before they could make an application to the Scheme, or before any decision was reached on a pending application.

The Scheme is funded by a levy on the insurance industry. To meet the full costs of the Scheme, regulations require active employers’ liability insurers to pay an annual levy based on their relative market share. This levy encompasses the capital payments made to applicants, administration costs, and costs associated with collecting the levy. The levy in 2024/25 was set at £28.6 million. The chart opposite shows the annual amount levied since the scheme began in 2014.

Statistics relating to the Scheme are currently released annually and are sourced from data originally collected by the Scheme Administrator appointed to act on behalf of the DWP. To reflect any updates, where possible, the full historical statistical series will be refreshed with each release, and so previous figures may be updated (for example, the historical series has been updated to show whether pending decisions have become successful or unsuccessful since the previous publication). Due to changes in Scheme Administrator from 1 April 2018 we have been unable to continue updating the historical series for the demographics and characteristics of applicants between April 2014 to March 2018. These figures therefore remain broadly the same as they were at the end of March 2018 but also include applications received by the new administrator prior to 1st April 2018.

Notes

• All the information underpinning the charts and figures featured in this summary is included in the accompanying excel tables.
• The data contained herein covers the period from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2025. It is acknowledged that the scheme did not open to receive applications until 6 April 2014.
• To avoid disclosing information about individual applicants, all volumes have been rounded to the nearest 5, percentages to the nearest 1 percent, total payments to the nearest £0.1 million, and average payments to the nearest £1000. Consequently, there may be slight discrepancies in total figures due to rounding.

Applications

Since 2014, 68% of applications where a decision has been reached have been successful.

In the year 01 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, 395 applications have been received. This is a decrease of 3% from 2023/2024. The number of applications received since 2014 is shown below. 

In the year 01 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, on those applications where a decision has been reached, 72% have been successful, 21% unsuccessful and 7% withdrawn. The overall success rate since 2014 is 68%. 

57% of the total number of applications received in the year 2024/25 were still pending a decision as of 31st March 2025. These pending applications are made up of those recently received and those where extra information is awaited before a decision can be made. In most cases, this extra information relates to ongoing enquiries to determine whether an alternative civil claim is possible. 

In the last 12 months, 97% of applications required more information than was initially provided before a decision could be made. Where an applicant believes they are entitled to claim, early completion of the application is encouraged. The Scheme Administrator acknowledges receipt and holds the claim until all the necessary evidence is provided by the applicant. Some evidence can be more difficult to obtain - for example, when the applicant is attempting to trace ex-employers/employers’ liability insurers despite a significant amount of time having passed since their employment. 

See Tables 1, 2 and 3 in the accompanying excel tables for full data.

Applications received

Year	Total number of applications received
2015/2016	375
2016/2017	345
2017/2018	370
2018/2019	370
2019/2020	315
2020/2021	305
2021/2022	325
2022/2023	330
2023/2024	405
2024/2025	395

Applications received by status

Year	Successful	Unsuccessful	Pending	Withdrawn	Total
2014/2015	290	105	0	15	410
2015/2016	260	85	0	30	375
2016/2017	235	95	0	15	345
2017/2018	260	95	0	15	370
2018/2019	265	90	0	10	365
2019/2020	200	105	5	10	320
2020/2021	190	90	10	10	300
2021/2022	185	95	30	15	325
2022/2023	165	75	75	15	330
2023/2024	120	30	245	10	405
2024/2025	120	35	225	10	390

Applications requiring additional information (2024/2024)

Year	Initial application contained all necessary evidence/information	Initial application did not contain all necessary evidence/information
2024/2025	380	10

Applicants

The majority of applicants are males over the age of 65.

The vast majority of applicants (89% in the last 12 months and 91% overall since 2014) are male. This trend reflects those professions where exposure to asbestos, and therefore the risk of being diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma have been high – for example, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, dockworkers, ship-builders and metal workers in the 1960’s and 70’s. 

 In 2024/25, the percentage of female applicants increased to 11%. The highest percentage of female applicants occurred in 2021/22 at 12%. 

 There are no age restrictions on applicants, but the potential award amount depends on the age of the applicant at the date they were diagnosed. The 12 months to 31 March 2025 saw an increase in applications received from those in the 80-84 age range from 19% in 2023/24 to 22% in 2024/25. 

In the year 2024/25, 80% of successful applicants were aged between 65 and 84. The percentage of successful applicants under 60 was 2% and the percentage over 85 was 14%. 

See Tables 5,6 and 7 in the accompanying excel tables for full data.

Applicants by gender

Year	Male	Female
2014/2015	390	20
2015/2016	345	30
2016/2017	315	35
2017/2018	355	35
2018/2019	340	30
2019/2020	280	35
2020/2021	280	25
2021/2022	285	40
2022/2023	295	35
2023/2024	360	40
2024/2025	351	44

Age at diagnosis - Percentage of all applicants

Year	Under 60	60-64	65-69	70-74	75-79	80-84	85+	Total
2014/2015	2	11	23	22	23	12	7	100
2015/2016	4	11	21	23	21	15	7	100
2016/2017	6	10	21	17	21	15	10	100
2017/2018	4	9	18	26	21	13	10	100
2018/2019	5	7	17	26	20	14	11	100
2019/2020	3	6	15	22	21	21	12	100
2020/2021	5	5	14	24	25	15	11	100
2021/2022	2	5	10	28	24	18	13	100
2022/2023	3	2	12	20	27	23	13	100
2023/2024	4	3	11	23	27	19	13	100
2024/2025	3	3	10	14	28	22	19	100

Age at diagnosis - Percentage of successful applicants

Year	Under 60	60-64	65-69	70-74	75-79	80-84	85+	Total
2014/2015	3	14	24	21	19	12	8	100
2015/2016	5	10	20	24	21	14	6	100
2016/2017	4	8	24	18	23	15	9	100
2017/2018	3	7	18	29	22	13	8	100
2018/2019	3	8	18	27	21	12	10	100
2019/2020	3	7	15	24	23	18	11	100
2020/2021	1	8	13	25	29	17	8	100
2021/2022	2	7	10	27	27	16	9	100
2022/2023	3	3	12	31	26	17	8	100
2023/2024	1	2	19	24	29	14	11	100
2024/2025	2	5	14	16	34	16	14	100

Payments

Since April 2014, the scheme has awarded £335.1 million in compensation to 2,290 successful applicants.

Between April 2014 and February 2015, the Scheme regulations specified that successful applicants be paid an amount equivalent to 80% of the award that they could typically expect to have received had their claim been successfully pursued through the civil courts system.

In February 2015, the Scheme’s tariff payment was increased so that successful applicants who had been diagnosed either on or after 10th February 2015 were awarded 100% of the award that they could typically expect to have received had their claim been successfully pursued through the civil courts system. The average (mean) payment made to successful applicants in the 12 months to March 2025 was £137,000.

Payments by year

Year	Total payments (£ millions)
2014/2015	30.2
2015/2016	36
2016/2017	31.5
2017/2018	36
2018/2019	38.7
2019/2020	32.4
2020/2021	26.8
2021/2022	23.3
2022/2023	23.2
2023/2024	26.6
2024/2025	30.4

Year	Average payment (£)
2014/2015	122,000
2015/2016	135,000
2016/2017	141,500
2017/2018	145,000
2018/2019	148,000
2019/2020	143,000
2020/2021	144,000
2021/2022	144,000
2022/2023	142,000
2023/2024	139,000
2024/2025	137,000

During 2024/25, £30.4 million was paid out under the scheme to 220 applicants. This is an increase from the £26.6 million paid out in the year 2023/24 to 190 applicants. Since April 2014, a total of £335.1 million has been paid out. This consists of £277.9 million of direct payments to applicants and £57.2 million which was repaid to the Department for Work and Pensions in respect of interim benefit payments previously made to the applicants.

Repayments to the Department for Work and Pensions are made in accordance with the well-established principle that an individual cannot receive money twice in respect of the same injury or disease. The responsibility to repay social security benefits rests with the person(s) who make the compensation payment (in this case the Scheme Administrator) and not the person diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma.

See Table 8 in the accompanying excel tables for full data.

Reviews and Complaints

Since the scheme began in 2014, almost 24% of unsuccessful decisions have been reviewed.

If an applicant disagrees with the outcome of their claim, they may request that the scheme administrator reconsiders their application. When requesting a review, the applicant should outline the reasons they believe the decision was incorrect.

The application, including any new evidence supplied by the applicant, is reviewed by an assessor who did not issue the original decision. If an applicant remains dissatisfied once the review has been completed, they may seek to have an independent appeal tribunal (known as the First Tier Tribunal or FTT) consider their case. If the applicant’s FTT application is unsuccessful, in certain circumstances they may apply to the FTT for permission to appeal to the Upper Tier Tribunal (UTT).

395 applications were received between April 2024 and March 2025. Decisions were made on 165 of these applications by the end of March 2025 of which 120 were successful, 35 were unsuccessful and 10 were withdrawn. In 2024/2025, a total of 60 applications were deemed unsuccessful, of which 10 applicants requested a review (equivalent to 17%) and 50% of the reviewed decisions resulted in the same outcome.

For comparison, in 2023/24, 405 applications were received. Decisions were made on 160 of these applications by the end of March 2024 of which 120 were successful, 30 were unsuccessful and 10 were withdrawn. In 2023/24, a total of 95 applications were deemed unsuccessful, of which 20 applicants requested a review (equivalent to 21%) and 50% of reviewed applications resulted in a different outcome. Decisions are often overturned when additional information is made available by the applicant to the Scheme Administrator.

In 2024/25, 3 decisions were appealed to the FTT. There has been one appeal to the UTT since 2019/20 and the appeal was unsuccessful. There has been 1 official complaint made in 2024/25.

See Table 9 in the accompanying excel tables for full data.

Number of unsuccessful applications reviewed

Year	Unsuccessful applications	Review requested	Referred to FTT	Complaints
2014/2015	105	40	15	0
2015/2016	85	20	5	0
2016/2017	95	35	20	0
2017/2018	85	25	10	0
2018/2019	90	15	0	0
2019/2020	70	5	0	0
2020/2021	85	10	0	0
2021/2022	85	10	5	0
2022/2023	90	15	0	0
2023/2024	95	20	5	0
2024/2025	60	10	5	1

Review outcomes

Year	Same outcome	Different outcome
2014/2015	30	15
2015/2016	20	5
2016/2017	30	5
2017/2018	20	5
2018/2019	10	5
2019/2020	0	5
2020/2021	5	5
2021/2022	5	5
2022/2023	10	5
2023/2024	10	10
2024/2025	5	5

Where to find out more

Useful links

More information about the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme from Top Mark Claims Management Ltd.

An overview of the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment scheme on GOV.UK.

See GOV.UK for previous publications of Diffuse Mesothelioma payment scheme statistics.

Other support groups

Organisation	Telephone	Website
Mesothelioma UK	Freephone helpline: 0800 169 2409	www.mesothelioma.uk.com
Asbestos Victims Support Groups’ Forum UK	Telephone: 01246 380 415	www.asbestosforum.org.uk
Macmillan Cancer Support	Freephone helpline: 0808 808 0000	www.macmillan.org.uk
Asthma + Lung UK	Helpline: 0300 222 5800	https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/
Association of Personal Injury Lawyers	Telephone: 0115 943 5400	www.apil.org.uk

You can also get information and advice from any local Citizens Advice Bureau, local support groups and Trade Unions.

Feedback

We welcome feedback on the material provided with a view to improving future releases.

Please email caxtonhouse.dmps@dwp.gov.uk with any comments or suggestions.