Chamber and committees

I will give an example from my area in Edinburgh. Eighty per cent of the local development plan land that is allocated is brownfield site, and 80 per cent of that has businesses on it, some of which are not aware that the land is allocated—the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home is also in that situation. There is no plan for where those organisations will be moved to. In Edinburgh, where the housing crisis is acute, I do not see where the land will come from. I hoped that a mechanism would be put in place to address that problem. As far as I can see, the land will not come forward, at least within the seven-year period. There needs to be a mechanism for adjustment when we see a problem clearly on the horizon, as is the case here in the capital.

Okay; thank you.

Given that we are short on time, I will ask some yes or no questions, too. The Social Justice and Social Security Committee has also been looking at the bill, and part of our work has been on the charter of rights and responsibilities that will be created. I welcome that, but one of the concerns is that the charter will not necessarily be legally binding. Should it be legally binding? We can have a yes or no answer.

In its evidence to the committee, the ALLIANCE suggested:

“there should be scope within the Bill for the creation of an independent authority whose role is to hold Ministers to account for their decisions.”.

Can you outline what you see that looking like legally and what legal standing it would have?

I thank Clare Adamson for bringing the debate to the chamber this year—it is very welcome that members can contribute to it. I also welcome all the guests in the public gallery—it is great to see so many people who have been campaigning for such a long time, and who ensure that we continue to have these debates, which are so important.

As Willie Coffey and Sue Webber said, the debate is now a really important event in the parliamentary diary, as it presents an opportunity for us all to remember those whom we have lost to the disease, as well as those who have lived, which it is also important to recognise.

I thank colleagues for their kind words about my former MSP colleague, John Scott, who was in Parliament just a couple of weeks ago with his grandchildren. He is well and enjoying life outside of politics, which is maybe a lesson for us all, to be quite honest. It was good to see him. I know that he follows these debates.

I will touch on some of the information that was provided to me during the drop-in session that was held on 17 November, during pancreatic cancer awareness month. In my region, in 2020, 251 people were diagnosed through our South East Scotland Cancer Network. Statistically, the situation is grim: on average, only 27.3 per cent of people with pancreatic cancer survive for more than a year after diagnosis. That is what we need to focus all of our thoughts on.

As Carol Mochan mentioned, yesterday, along with Jackie Baillie, I co-chaired the Scottish cancer conference. The report that I am holding is one of the most shocking reports that I have ever seen. Sorry, Presiding Officer—it is another purple prop. The report is called “Cancer in the UK: Deprivation and cancer inequalities in Scotland”, and I hope that everyone across the Parliament has a chance to read it, because it shows the need for an emergency response to the location of cancer services in Scotland.

I welcome the work that is currently taking place around the Scottish Government’s national cancer strategy, which overlaps with what for many years we have been calling for with regard to pancreatic cancer, which is real investment in rapid diagnosis and decision-to-treat pathways. We need to see improvement on those.

I will close on a positive note. Just before the pandemic, I was delighted to visit the Precision Panc project at the Beatson west of Scotland cancer centre. Ahead of the debate, I reached out to find out what work has been going on, because it is important to recognise the amazing achievements in Scotland at the moment. Thirty-two recruitment centres have been put in place, and I believe that 500 patients are registered and 300 patients have been able to progress to clinical trials. The primus 006 and 008 trials will be coming over the next three to six months. We are taking welcome steps forward.

I was also told that biopsy for pancreatic cancer has now become the norm, which it is incredibly important and welcome. Speaking to patients, I heard that many people progress to a palliative pathway without any investigation. It is also important that we are now seeing the molecular profiling of pancreatic cancer becoming a reality in the NHS.

However, there are two challenges, specifically around research, which I will close on. We know that there is a need for sustained investment and for pharmaceutical partners to be part of that by investing in pancreatic cancer research.

On the back of this debate, I hope that ministers will look at the issue as part of consideration of the national cancer strategy. We need pancreatic cancer to be given priority for rapid diagnosis and decision-to-treat pathways, because the country is not where it needs to be in that regard. Each and every one of us should challenge the Government on that. I know from the conversations that I had yesterday at the Scottish cancer conference that that is what the sector wants. We should all work towards that.

Good morning, and thank you for joining us.

A lot of my questions have already been touched on. Would it be possible for the committee to be provided with information on where advocates are based and the regions that they cover, specifically when they are working across health board areas?

Perhaps you could write to us with that information, and, if there is an on-going opportunity to do so, you could update us on recruitment so that we can see what provision looks like. That would be helpful.

Yes—and about the conversations that you are having with clients.

Yes—that is important.

Finally, with expansion plans and in the current market, are you finding it difficult to recruit advocates who have the necessary experience? What sort of training have you developed?

Either the client or the advocate who is going to visit a client.