The new compensation scheme for diffuse mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, has paid out over £15 million in its first 7 months. But the Department for Work and Pensions says there are hundreds more victims who may be eligible for compensation and is calling for them to come forward, estimating that £32 million could be paid out by the end of March 2015.

The new package of support – funded by the insurance industry – opened in April this year. It is designed to provide compensation for people suffering from diffuse mesothelioma, or the families of those who have died from the disease.

It is estimated that every year 300 people struggle to find a relevant party to sue for damages, because companies become insolvent or insurance records cannot be found.

DWP Minister, Lord Freud said:

For years, many victims of this truly terrible disease have been failed by successive governments and the insurance industry. We are ending an injustice that has left many victims and their families without financial support.

This scheme is already up and running but we know that there are many more victims and their families who could receive compensation averaging £125,000 and I encourage them to come forward.

Compensation packages include a sum that can be put towards the payment of legal fees and are made directly to individuals. And the scheme has been designed to accept direct applications, to enable people to apply without the aid of a solicitor. In these cases, the individual would keep the money intended for legal fees.

The scheme is available for sufferers of diffuse mesothelioma who were diagnosed after 25 July 2012, or families of sufferers who have died, and who can’t trace a liable employer or an employers’ insurer.

Technical regulations laid in parliament earlier this month come into effect, giving government powers to collect the funds for the scheme from eligible insurance companies based on their relative market share.

The department announced that the estimated costs of the scheme in the financial year 2014/15 will be £32 million. This amount will be payable by active insurers by the end of March 2015 as this is a demand-led scheme the final costs for the first year of operation may vary from the £32 million estimate.

Men over 65, who worked in the building industry when asbestos was used extensively, are now among those most at risk of mesothelioma.