Chamber and committees

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the 2021 Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to expand on the community link worker programme. (S6O-02503)

Yesterday’s announcement from the Lord Advocate is a vindication for all those who have long said that such an approach was possible, particularly Peter Krykant, who I worked with on an unofficial overdose prevention pilot in Glasgow in 2020, saving eight lives, and who is in the public gallery today. In 2017, the previous Lord Advocate said that it was not possible, despite operating under the same laws and guidance as the current Lord Advocate. Over those six years, what exactly has changed in the latest proposal to make it possible? What does the minister have to say to the 7,127 families who have lost loved ones since the previous Lord Advocate rejected the original proposal, many of whom would still be alive today if there had not been such devastating intransigence from people in positions of power in this country?

The minister will be well aware of the Queens Quay district heat network in Clydebank, which is the biggest in the United Kingdom and was pioneered by the Glasgow-based engineering company Star Refrigeration. The company is saying that scaling that across the Clyde corridor, with the potential to take hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses off the gas grid, is constrained by access to affordable electricity. What is the minister doing to unlock that opportunity for affordable electricity supply along the Clyde and to get that density of commitments through the planning obligations? Together, that would unlock the huge potential—

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate, and I thank the member for Clydebank and Milngavie for bringing to the chamber the motion on mesothelioma. I echo colleagues’ comments in commending Clydebank Asbestos Group and Action on Asbestos for all the work that they have done to support people and their families in dealing with diagnoses of asbestos-related conditions for some three decades. My colleague the member for Dumbarton, who is a long-standing supporter of those organisations’ work, was disappointed not to be able to contribute to the debate.

We are all aware of the dangers of asbestos. In previous years, it was extremely prevalent because of its affordability and durability. Its prevalence in the United Kingdom and in Scotland in particular is in direct proportion to the extent to which our country was the first in the world to industrialise and went through the most intensive period of industrialisation in world history.

The industry in Scotland was world leading from the 1870s. There were about 60 asbestos manufacturing companies in Scotland by around 1914, the most notable of which were in the Glasgow area, including Turner & Newall in Dalmuir, Cape in Springburn and Marinite in Glasgow.

The fact that the UK Government was so late in banning the product has left a huge legacy that we are still dealing with today. We were one of the last countries in the developed world to ban the product. Blue asbestos and brown asbestos were banned in 1985, but asbestos products were fully banned only in 1999. That is why, even today, relatively young people are suffering from the horrendous effects of this toxic product.

Shipbuilding is one iconic example of an occupation that had high levels of asbestos exposure, as asbestos was used to fireproof high-heat equipment on ships such as steam turbines, incinerators and boilers. It was also used throughout ship shell plating for insulation and to line pipes for heat resistance.

When I was a young boy, my dad would come in from shifts at Yarrow’s and the powder would come off his overalls and his boiler suit. Young people—even children—can still be affected today because it was not just the people who worked on the shop floor or on board the ships who were exposed; the material that was carried home has caused terrible harms to family and friends who were in households.

Asbestos was ubiquitous across Scotland. Building contractors and housing contractors used it—even school chemistry laboratories had asbestos fireproofing—and it was used to insulate boilers. Asbestos was everywhere and still is everywhere.

It is worth noting that Scotland has the highest proportion of pre-1946 housing stock in Europe—the figure is 53 per cent, relative to 38 per cent in the UK as a whole and 22 per cent across the European Union. Asbestos is embedded across much of our housing stock, even to this day—it is still a live and present danger.

At the weekend, I was at an event at the King’s theatre, where the National Theatre of Scotland was doing a tribute to Billy Connolly. I distinctly remember him speaking at Jimmy Reid’s funeral about how it would be snowing asbestos on board the ships that he worked on at Alexander Stephen’s shipyard in Linthouse. His description was that people would come up for a cigarette and then go down for more fumes.

Shipbuilding was one of the most appalling industrial environments to work in anywhere in the world. Having worked in the industry, I know that there is a lot of romance around it. Great improvements have been made, but it certainly is not a pleasant place to work in the winter months.

Asbestos has added to the devastating exposure to industrial illness that we see in Scotland. The fact that there are still difficulties in getting recognition and compensation, particularly because the latency of mesothelioma brings in the time bar, is unacceptable.

We must take urgent steps to recognise the distinct and particularly pernicious effects that mesothelioma has in this country because of our industrial legacy and because of the time that it takes to manifest itself. We must adapt our social security system and our apparatus for addressing industrial injury to recognise the condition’s prevalence in our society today. It is still very much with us—this is not a historic situation.

It was interesting to hear reference being made in the debate to the Scottish Law Commission’s project on damages for personal injury. I understand that that is due to report by mid-2024 on the current timetable. Can the minister do anything at all to work with her colleagues across Government to expedite that and examine with the Scottish Law Commission a way in which extra resource could be provided to analyse the responses to the consultation and try to speed up the policy consideration? Getting enhanced legislation is really important.

The cabinet secretary might be aware of research from Marie Curie and the University of Loughborough centre for research in social policy that shows the profound impact on, and the difficult choices facing, those who are living with the double burden of rising costs associated with terminal illness and a reduction in their ability to work that is brought about by their terminal illness. Those people are in a truly desperate situation. How will the Government mitigate the impact of the cost of living crisis on those who are facing death and bereavement?

I absolutely agree with that concern. Swimming is the most democratic sport in Scotland—it has the highest level of participation and the greatest class and gender balance. It is a very good way for people not only to keep fit, but to learn an essential life skill. In that context, it makes total sense for the Government to look at swimming pool provision more closely. We have looked at that issue in the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee.

Around 90 per cent of sport funding in Scotland is channelled through local authorities, but they are under a lot of financial pressure. We need to look in particular at capital-intensive facilities such as swimming pools and ensure that we modernise them so that the running costs do not become excessive and they can be maintained as viable public assets. As Douglas Lumsden said, the consequences for inequality are considerable in relation to access to sports facilities such as swimming pools, which can also be used to learn a critical life-saving skill. It is appalling to think that a lack of opportunity in that respect could ultimately result in someone’s death, but we need to be cognisant of that.

I echo the tributes that the member for Glasgow Provan and the member for Motherwell and Wishaw paid to the Spiers family and their courageous campaign in memory of their son, Christopher, who was lost to the river Clyde in 2016, at just 28 years old. Their campaign has involved not just raising awareness, but pursuing innovation in order to introduce practical interventions in our public realm to save lives.

In particular, it has been incredible to see the co-design of the innovative floating safety rope with Ibex Marina Ropes. The support from that company has been fantastic. I recently met Duncan Spiers, Christopher’s dad, and it was interesting to hear him say that the workers at the factory have a photograph of Christopher up to inspire them with the knowledge that their work saves lives. The rope has the colours yellow, to be seen; orange, for suicide prevention; and purple, which was Christopher’s colour. That simple measure, which was introduced following the family’s campaign, is estimated to have saved the lives of more than 10 people who have fallen into the Clyde. The family should be incredibly proud of that achievement.

The reality is, however, that we need more than just improved safety equipment; we need dedicated, 24-hour search and rescue on the river Clyde. I was concerned to be contacted recently by firefighters who informed me that proposed cuts by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service mean that that 24-hour rescue provision on the Clyde is now at risk. If the proposal is rubber stamped, it will see Polmadie’s dedicated rescue boat crew removed from the station and replaced with a dual-crewed approach. Consequently, in addition to the potential loss of 15 jobs, we would lose that dedicated boat crew because it would have to cover the fire engine and the boat as well.

Given that the crew has conducted 22 rescues in the past year alone, I call on the First Minister to intervene with the SFRS in order to stop that cut and ensure that capacity is maintained on the river. I hope that the minister will echo that call today and ensure that she engages across Government to protect that vital life-saving measure on the Clyde. We cannot have a retreat in the capacity to save lives because of Government cuts when we know that that capacity makes a positive difference—it is not acceptable.

I congratulate the member for Motherwell and Wishaw on bringing her motion to the chamber for debate, albeit that this member’s business debate is being held a week after drowning prevention week because of unnecessary constraints on parliamentary business. Nonetheless, it is an essential and important topic for debate ahead of the summer recess.

In my area of Glasgow, there are major risks associated with the River Clyde. It might well be a famous waterway that has produced great industrial benefits for the city, but it presents a murkier and darker side beneath its waters. Decades of neglect and a lack of dredging by the privatised port authority have resulted in a river that is dangerous and in some instances deadly.

Drowning prevention week, which was last week, is an essential awareness-raising initiative that aims to educate people about water safety and drowning prevention, draw attention to the dangers of open water and equip people of all ages with the essential skills and knowledge to stay safe in and around water.

Many members—including Ms Gosal, Mr Lumsden and the member for Coatbridge and Chryston—have made points about the provision of swimming lessons in schools and access to municipal swimming baths. It is essential that we look at securing that capacity. Cases have been mentioned that highlight the costs of running swimming pools as regards heating and so on. We need to get on the front foot with capital investment to introduce district heating networks and find innovative ways of ensuring that those facilities are sustainable for the future.

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the level of child poverty in Scotland. (S6O-02414)

It is a pleasure to rise—[Interruption.]