Chamber and committees

Thank you.

I have a final question. Professor Gibb, in your submission, you put the scale of the challenge in context, including

“the working through of economic change associated with Brexit”.

Will you expand on that and say a bit more about the impact of Brexit?

Fionna Kell’s submission says:

“some home builders have and will consider projects unviable.”

You touched on that earlier, but will you provide a bit more detail on it? What can the Scottish Government do to address the issue?

Thank you.

My first question has been touched on, but I will ask it to see whether anything further needs to be said. What impact will the reported rise in insolvencies among small and medium-sized house builders have on the local delivery of affordable homes? I put that question to Fionna Kell first, and then to anyone else who would like to add anything.

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.

Thank you.

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?