Liz Jarvis MP to table Bill to protect victims of killer lung disease

Member of Parliament for Eastleigh, Liz Jarvis, will table a Bill titled the Silica Dust (Exposure) Bill to make provision for the prevention, monitoring, and reporting of silicosis and other lung diseases caused by occupation exposure to silica dust. Silicosis has been dubbed ‘the new asbestos’, which is caused by inhaling particles of materials with high levels of silica and causes severe and incurable damage to the lungs. 

Ms Jarvis met with Caroline Hudson, whose brother-in-law, George Elliott, a craftsman and stonemason, died of silicosis in 2023. Hudson’s family’s experience has made them determined to raise awareness and push for a change in the law to protect workers. 

The Member of Parliament for Eastleigh will table a Presentation Bill in Parliament that calls for a programme of screening for silicosis, improve working practises, and a prohibition on the dry-cutting of high-silica engineered stone, which is commonly found in granite and quartz kitchen worktops. Australia has outlawed artificial stone after a number of reported cases of silicosis. 

Liz Jarvis, Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh, said:

“My constituent Caroline Hudson came to see to me about her brother-in-law George Elliott, who tragically died from silicosis. The family’s experience has made them determined to raise awareness and push for a change in the law to protect workers and I am doing everything I can to support them with that.

“It’s absolutely heartbreaking that construction workers, stonemasons and kitchen fitters – including very young men who should have had their whole lives ahead of them – are dying from what is an entirely preventable disease.

“There is also the impact of loss of income for families as well as the impact on the NHS. I am urging the Government to take prompt action on this issue.”