Chamber and committees

This is the fifth year that I have managed to secure a debate to mark mesothelioma day. My determination to secure truth and justice for asbestos victims and their families will never wane. I thank those members who have supported my motion and those who are speaking in today’s debate.

This is an issue that deserves cross-party support and, once again, that has been achieved. I also invite Parliament to welcome members of the Clydebank Asbestos Group and Asbestos Action (Tayside), and I make a special mention of Christine Sayer, my local hero from Clydebank Asbestos Group, who will be visiting the Parliament again on Saturday. For decades, those groups have stood beside individuals and families in their time of greatest need. They provide not only advice and support but a voice, ensuring that those affected are heard in this Parliament and beyond.

Since my debate last year, we have, sadly, lost two central figures in the fight for truth and justice: David Colraine, a founding member of the Clydebank Asbestos Group; and former MP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Tony Worthington, who passed away earlier this year. They were a real driving force behind the pursuit of truth and justice for asbestos victims—true giants whose legacy and impact have been felt throughout Clydebank and beyond. Unfortunately, every year, I have mentioned individuals we have lost. For them and for the many unheard victims of asbestos exposure we must see progress and secure justice.

Mesothelioma is a rare but devastating cancer that is mostly caused by exposure to asbestos. Across the United Kingdom, there are around 2,700 new cases each year, including more than 200 in Scotland. However, statistics alone cannot convey the reality of the disease. In my hometown of Clydebank, the issue is deeply personal. Clydebank has paid one of the heaviest prices anywhere in the United Kingdom for asbestos exposure. West Dunbartonshire has some of the highest mesothelioma mortality rates in the country: over a period of nearly 40 years, 295 men in the area died from mesothelioma when only 81 deaths would have been expected. That is one of the highest mortality rates anywhere in the UK. However, even those stark figures do not tell the whole story. Women in our area have also been significantly affected, with more than double the expected number of deaths having been recorded over the same period. Those are not abstract figures; they represent hundreds of families in one community who have lost loved ones.

Clydebank was once described as the mesothelioma capital of Europe. That is a title that no community would ever wish to hold, and it speaks directly to our industrial past: the shipbuilding, manufacturing and construction industries that built our nation at an enormous human cost. However, that cost was not inevitable. For decades, workers were exposed to asbestos fibres—often daily, often without protection, and too often without being advised of the risks. Evidence has since shown that companies were aware of the dangers long before meaningful protections were put in place. As campaigners have rightly said, that was not simply an accident of history; it was a profound failure to protect workers. I say in the strongest terms that knowingly exposing people to a deadly substance without adequate safeguards is not neglect; it is an abhorrent criminal act.

The legacy of asbestos is not confined to the past. It continues to affect people across the United Kingdom today. Around 5,000 people still die each year from asbestos-related disease, making it the single biggest cause of work-related death.

Asbestos is still present in the buildings around us. In Scotland alone, more than 1,700 schools are known to contain asbestos, and there have been cases of teachers—people with no connection to heavy industry—developing mesothelioma after exposure in their workplaces. That is why we need to see the phased removal of asbestos from public buildings, starting with our schools.

We must also address the issue of justice. I have campaigned hard on what I have described as the disgraceful three-year time bar, which has denied justice to some victims of asbestos-related disease. Under current law, an individual who is diagnosed with a relatively minor condition such as pleural plaques might have just three years in which to raise a claim, even though they might not go on to develop mesothelioma until decades later. The nature of asbestos-related disease makes that time limit totally unjust. It is welcome that the Scottish Law Commission recognised that issue and proposed reforms. I met the First Minister and other members of the Government to stress the urgent need to implement those reforms, and I want the earliest possible progress to be made on that.

Despite the scale of the challenge, people are showing resilience. Again and again, I have met individuals who, even in the face of a devastating diagnosis, choose to campaign not for themselves but for others. That selflessness speaks volumes about the strength of our communities. It also places a responsibility on all of us, because we cannot simply reflect on the issue; we must act. We must continue to raise awareness of mesothelioma and asbestos-related disease, we must support research so that we can improve treatment and outcomes, and we must ensure that compensation is fair and accessible by removing barriers such as the time bar. Critically, we must also prevent future exposure. That means properly managing asbestos where it remains and making progress towards its safe removal from public buildings, including our schools.

Mesothelioma is a disease that is rooted in our industrial history, but its impact is still being felt today in Clydebank, across Scotland and throughout the United Kingdom. It reminds us of the human cost of that history and of our responsibility to those who have been affected.

Unfortunately, mesothelioma is not just a disease of the past—far from it. In 2023 alone, 2,218 people in the UK died from it. That is a stark and sobering reminder that the disease continues to take lives every year. In communities such as mine, in Clydebank, that reality is not distant. It is still being felt, heard and lived. Families continue to face loss, people continue to receive a diagnosis and the risks that cause the harm of mesothelioma have not yet been fully removed from the world around us.

Therefore, this is not a closed chapter. We have a continuing responsibility to act where we know that the risk remains, to ensure justice where it has been denied and to prevent future generations from facing the same fate. The burden that is carried by communities such as Clydebank has been far too great for far too long. Although we cannot change what has happened, we can decide what happens next. The future of the issue, whether it remains a story of harm or becomes a turning point for action, is in our hands. Therefore, our purpose must be to recognise the scale of this legacy and our duty to address it so that, in the years to come, it can be said not only that we understood the consequences of asbestos, but that we chose to act decisively to bring them to an end.

17:34

I am delighted to hear it. I welcome today’s announcement on the time bar issue, which I know will be well received by asbestos sufferers and campaigners. Does the minister accept that, on this issue, justice delayed is justice denied? Can she tell us how quickly the Government will proceed with the bill?

I nominate David Torrance.

David Torrance was chosen as deputy convener.

I have no relevant interests to declare.

Good morning. I thank our witnesses for giving us their time. I note that eight weeks’ notice is given for announced inspection visits. What factors would determine that an unannounced inspection should take place? How often do they take place? What value do you get from them?

You say that the independent prison monitors are members of the public. What are the numbers? Is there a shortage of them? What is the recruitment process for them?

On the timings, do you always go in at the same times, or do you alternate the times? How long does an inspection normally take?

I want to go back to the issue of the complex prison population that we find ourselves with, and that of caring for our older and vulnerable disabled prisoners. I have noticed in the report that there are only five accessible cells in HMP Barlinnie, which, I imagine, the demand probably outweighs. Is that the case? What are your observations when you go in?

Thank you. I could ask much more, but I will hand back to the convener.

I have no relevant interests to declare, either.