Chamber and committees

I am pleased to have secured the debate, and I thank colleagues for their support in signing the motion and for participating in the debate.

Action mesothelioma day, on 1 July, seeks to raise awareness of mesothelioma. I congratulate ActionMeso and all the support groups up and down the country on their determined efforts to raise awareness of the disease. I am delighted that members of the Clydebank Asbestos Group have travelled from Clydebank to support the debate. I welcome to our Parliament Kate Ferrier, Adele Kane and Rachel Gallagher, who join us from the gallery.

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that is caused by exposure to asbestos fibres, and it begins to grow in the lining of certain organs. Most commonly, it affects the lining of the lungs, but it can also affect the lining of the abdomen or the lining of the heart. It can be difficult to diagnose, because it has a long latency period. Worldwide Cancer Research states:

“it can take anywhere from 20 to 50 years after a person’s first exposure to asbestos to diagnosis with mesothelioma.”

The disease is incurable, but some people survive for many years after diagnosis. Sadly, however, many cases are diagnosed at a late stage, the cancer having already spread from the lining of the lungs to other parts of the body. Unfortunately, at that stage, palliative care is often the only option.

From my time as part of the nursing team at St Margaret of Scotland hospice, I saw at first hand how those types of cancer took away so many too soon. I had many heart-breaking conversations about the impact of mesothelioma with patients who were at the end stage of the disease, including women who said that they had been exposed to asbestos simply because of their cleanliness, through cleaning their husbands’ overalls.

I heard from patients who had worked in the Turners Asbestos Cement company in Clydebank. They said that they were given little in the way of protective clothing or masks—some used to clear vents with their bare hands. The irony of a national health service hospital now being located on the site of the former asbestos factory is certainly not lost on my Clydebank constituents.

I also remember hospice patients meeting their lawyers about compensation claims; sadly, some died before the insurance company settled. Those companies sought out delay and denied what little justice was available to those who had been criminally exposed to asbestos. Fortunately, things on the compensation front have moved on, but there is much more to be done, and equality must be given to posthumous claims.

Mesothelioma has inflicted much pain and suffering in Clydebank—the town in which I was brought up, live, work and now have the honour to represent. Twenty-six years ago, Clydebank was described as the mesothelioma capital of Europe, due to its having the highest death rates. Recent Health and Safety Executive statistics show that, in the period from 1981 to 2019, the local government area covering Clydebank had the second highest male mesothelioma death rate in the United Kingdom. The statistics also show that we have the highest female mesothelioma death rate in Scotland and the fourth highest in the United Kingdom. That is an unwanted legacy of our industrial heritage.

As well as Turners, which operated in our town between 1938 and 1970, many in Clydebank were employed in the Singer sewing factory or by John Brown & Company in engineering and shipbuilding. Asbestos was heavily used in those industries and is a major contributory factor to the high levels of mesothelioma.

In response, in the latter half of the 1990s, West Dunbartonshire Council and the health board set up a groundbreaking partnership to increase awareness of the scale of asbestos-related illness and to improve services for those who were exposed to asbestos. At the heart of that partnership is the Clydebank Asbestos Group, which has existed for 30 years and is always there for those who need it. The group is chaired by Theresa Jones and supported by vice-chair Christine Sawyer and secretary Kate Ferrier. It also has hard-working and committed staff in charity co-ordinator Rachel Gallagher and admin officer Adele Kane.

The charity was founded in October 1992 by David Colraine and his wife, Jean. It is fitting that, in the year of the group’s 30th anniversary, its former chairperson Bob Dickie celebrated his 90th birthday. Bob is still a mentor to the group and is greatly respected for everything that he achieved for it and the cause of asbestos victims across the UK. Bob is also known for his role as a shop steward in the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders work-in and for being part of the delegation to Downing Street to save the yard.

Although the majority of the group’s clients are from heavy industry backgrounds, it now sees clients, including more female clients, who worked not in heavy industry but in other sectors such as education and health and in clerical occupations. Some younger clients have also accessed the service in recent years—shockingly, people as young as 30 are being diagnosed with mesothelioma. That is a worrying development, especially considering how long mesothelioma can go undetected.

Those two issues emphasise my position that everything possible must be done to deal with asbestos in built environments, including taking the most effective approaches to health and safety and providing adequate funding to remove asbestos from public and private buildings.

It is also important that there be good support for health and social care. There have been significant improvements in the package of help and treatments that is available, and we must ensure that it emerges well from Covid and is available to younger age groups, as highlighted by the Clydebank Asbestos Group’s case load.

Finally, the group has developed a good relationship with the industrial injuries disablement benefit office in Barrow. Mesothelioma is a prescribed disease in the industrial injuries disablement benefit scheme, which provides no-fault state compensation to employed earners for occupational diseases. Claims for mesothelioma are prioritised in the scheme and are automatically assessed at 100 per cent disablement, given the severity and prognosis of the disease. As the benefit transfers over to Social Security Scotland, I want it to work with the group to ensure that the right support is given and quick decisions are made.

I thank all those who are taking part in action mesothelioma day to raise awareness. Members will understand why I secured the debate: mesothelioma is an important issue for my constituents, and I welcome the opportunity to increase awareness and highlight the issues around the disease. I congratulate Clydebank Asbestos Group on its 30th anniversary.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app froze. I would have voted no.

Can you say a bit about how the past two years have impacted on local government finances, particularly in relation to planned savings and budget gaps? For example, how have the new ways of delivering services that have been prompted by Covid led to savings for councils? Perhaps Bill Moyes can direct those questions to someone.

Good morning. In the past two years, a massive amount of Covid-related support—approximately £4.6 billion—was channelled through local authorities at impressive speed. How confident is the commission that that money has been spent effectively and transparently?

Does anyone else want to come in on that, or can I move on to my next question?

Yes—a lot more services are being shared across East Dunbartonshire and West Dunbartonshire, which are the councils in my area.

I have a final question. The issue of reserves is covered in the financial overview. Given that the report was published in March, is there a more recent assessment of how much of local authorities’ £3.8 billion in reserves has been used up since March 2021?

Thank you.

I welcome the continued efforts to promote a living wage. The minister will agree that an unambiguous commitment from employers to pay the living wage and recognise trade unions in the workplace is a strong platform for being a decent employer and providing a fair and productive work environment. Does the minister agree with me and the Scottish Trades Union Congress that the Scottish Parliament must have control over employment law in order to be able to fully embed decent employment rights by setting a real living wage and ending the exploitative use of zero-hours contracts?

It is a pleasure to speak in the debate, and I congratulate Christine Grahame on securing it and giving the Parliament the opportunity to commend the positive contribution made by men’s sheds to the wider community. I agree with Christine that men’s sheds are a vital support to Scotland’s communities and I am pleased to have signed and to support the motion in her name.

As the member for Clydebank and Milngavie, I am pleased to advise the Parliament that I have two men’s sheds in my constituency: the men’s shed in Clydebank and the Milngavie and Bearsden shed in Bearsden. The Milngavie and Bearsden shed is in the pagoda of the King George V park in Bearsden, and it was only after an extensive search that the group’s initial trustees identified the former tennis changing rooms—that is, the pagoda—as a possible home. After a year of negotiations with East Dunbartonshire Council, they got the keys of the derelict building in April 2018, and the building itself has been lovingly restored by the group with the support of a grant from East Dunbartonshire health and social care partnership.

The shed in Clydebank was formerly some school huts in the grounds of Dalmuir community centre, and the group has recently managed to secure another hut from West Dunbartonshire Council and is in the process of refurbishing it. It is great to see these derelict buildings being brought back into use.

I have had the privilege of visiting both sheds and have spent an enjoyable time listening to my constituents tell me how the resource plays such an important part in their lives. Some of the men told me that attending the men’s shed gave them a purpose, and it is clear that our local communities gain tremendously from them, too. I particularly want to thank Mick Wilson for hosting my visit to Clydebank and Hamish Livingstone at the Milngavie and Bearsden shed. It was wonderful to meet them and the other men who were there. We had a great chat and a really enjoyable day.

I came away from those visits, clear about the good that these facilities are doing for my constituents. The support was there when they needed it most, frequently as an antidote to social isolation and poor mental health. In both of my visits, the men talked about the mental and physical health benefits of attending the sheds. Some of them had recently retired, which meant that they had a lot of time on their hands compared to when they were working. Attending the shed helped reduce their social isolation and gave them an opportunity to speak to other men and, indeed, to be creative—and, oh boy, are they creative. They come from many trades—there are, for example, ex-joiners and painters—and they can turn their hands to absolutely anything and do it effortlessly.

Covid-19 placed such a strain on mental health and unfortunately increased social isolation, and I admired the way in which the men tried to keep in touch during that time. Having made lasting friendships, they recognised the importance of that contact, and their feelings of relief and happiness were obvious when they finally got to meet again in the shed with the easing of the Covid-19 restrictions. It was an honour to be invited to the re-opening celebration of the shed in Clydebank, and I was pleased to show my support for their community endeavour.

The commitment of the men’s sheds to our community is widely recognised and highly valued. Both sheds are very connected to the wider community; for example, the Milngavie and Bearsden shed in East Dunbartonshire has supported Milngavie in bloom with a floral arrangement outside the Fraser centre, and the men have also constructed an outside canopy for Gavin’s Mill and helped Bearsden in bloom. In Clydebank, the men are very active in their community, supporting local groups, particularly Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels. Both organisations help each other in kind, and the way in which they are there for each other sets a really great example of how to foster community spirit.

I am pleased to have this opportunity to thank both men’s sheds in my constituency; indeed, we are very fortunate to have two of them. I have nothing but the highest praise for them and, as a constituency MSP, I will be a very strong supporter of them.

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made in encouraging employers to pay the real living wage. (S6O-01239)