THOUSANDS of people in Hampshire with an asbestos-related condition will have to wait even longer to find out whether they will get compensation.

People diagnosed with pleural plaques – scarring of the lungs usually caused by exposure to the lethal insulation material – were expecting a Government decision by this month.

But now they have been told an announcement will be made later this summer.

It’s the latest setback in a two-year battle that began when a House of Lords decision removed their right to compensation which had existed for 20 years.

Lord Chancellor Jack Straw this week told the House of Commons the Government was delaying making a decision following a consultation last year on different options.

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He said: “Consideration of the responses, of which we have received quite a number following publication of our paper on the way forward, is taking longer than we anticipated, because of the complexity involved.

“However, I certainly intend that we should come to conclusions before the summer recess.”

Although rarely causing symptoms, pleural plaques is associated with an increased risk of developing fatal conditions such as mesothelioma.

Across Hampshire an average of two cases of mesothelioma are detected by the region’s hospitals every week.

Ian McFall, head of asbestos policy at national trade union firm Thompsons Solicitors, which has offices in Southampton, said: “Pleural plaques sufferers have been waiting for a decision from the Government since a consultation on options ended in October 2008 and this latest announcement is just more delay.”

Meanwhile, in another attempt to overturn the decision, a private member’s Bill to overturn the House of Lords decision is currently going through parliament.

Campaigners, seeking between £5,000 and £15,000 compensation for victims, estimate that thousands of people across Hampshire are affected by pleural plaques.

Asbestos was widely used in many industries, including at Southampton docks and Eastleigh’s railway works.

The toxic substance was banned in the early 1980s.