2 health and safety bills in the Queen's Speech

In the Queen's Speech today, there were two bills which affect health and safety:

Mesothelioma Bill
This bill is designed to help people who suffer from Mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos. It establishes a payment scheme for those people who cannot trace their employer or their employer's insurance company, where the employer was responsible for the asbestos exposure. Anyone diagnosed with mesothelioma from 25 July 2012 will be able to make a claim. The bill will be funded by a levy on insurance companies, and it will apply to the whole of the UK.

Draft Deregulation Bill
This draft bill lays out how the government intends to reduce the amount of regulation with which businesses, individuals and public bodies have to comply. Measures include exempting from health-and-safety legislation people who are self-employed and whose work poses no risk of harm to other people.