Chamber
Plenary, 21 Mar 2007
21 Mar 2007 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Rights of Relatives to Damages (Mesothelioma) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
The Scottish Socialist Party very much welcomes and supports the bill. Politics is about power: who has it and how they use it. Although I am part of the consensus in the Parliament on the bill, I think that we should acknowledge that the bill is a small measure against a huge injustice. Those who have suffered that injustice have mainly been working-class men—there have been some women—and their families. Although the bill makes compensation claims easier and is not discriminatory, big problems in claiming compensation still exist for mesothelioma sufferers.
Until now, sufferers have found it enormously difficult to claim. Every possible obstacle has been put in their way. Employers and insurers have continually tried to evade responsibility for paying compensation. The big insurance companies have denied responsibility and delayed the legal process; then, when the campaigners and their families have got the companies bang to rights and, through the legal process, have forced them to compensate, they have resorted to selling off their profitable assets, leaving the unprofitable parts to pay the compensation. One insurance company left £30 million in an account to pay £250 million of estimated liabilities. As Shona Robison said, the peak of the epidemic is expected to be 2015 to 2020. Given that the hot spots are in areas such as Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire, where the death rate is higher and people are dying younger, the Parliament has a big responsibility.
I make a plea that in the next session of Parliament, after the election, we carry on pursuing the issue. The bill is a very small step. We should consider whether we can introduce legislation that nails the big companies. How can we make it easier for sufferers and their families to sue? What can we do to ensure that the medical services are there for mesothelioma sufferers? Every member is in favour of the bill but, considering the injustice that has been suffered, it is not enough. If we have the powers to do so, we should consider using legislation to force compensation to be made in a much shorter period. Furthermore, considering the lives that have been taken, the compensation for spouses—£30,000—is paltry. The insurers and companies knew about their liability and they knew what asbestos had done. The Parliament has a responsibility to right the bigger wrongs. However, the SSP will support the bill today.
Until now, sufferers have found it enormously difficult to claim. Every possible obstacle has been put in their way. Employers and insurers have continually tried to evade responsibility for paying compensation. The big insurance companies have denied responsibility and delayed the legal process; then, when the campaigners and their families have got the companies bang to rights and, through the legal process, have forced them to compensate, they have resorted to selling off their profitable assets, leaving the unprofitable parts to pay the compensation. One insurance company left £30 million in an account to pay £250 million of estimated liabilities. As Shona Robison said, the peak of the epidemic is expected to be 2015 to 2020. Given that the hot spots are in areas such as Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire, where the death rate is higher and people are dying younger, the Parliament has a big responsibility.
I make a plea that in the next session of Parliament, after the election, we carry on pursuing the issue. The bill is a very small step. We should consider whether we can introduce legislation that nails the big companies. How can we make it easier for sufferers and their families to sue? What can we do to ensure that the medical services are there for mesothelioma sufferers? Every member is in favour of the bill but, considering the injustice that has been suffered, it is not enough. If we have the powers to do so, we should consider using legislation to force compensation to be made in a much shorter period. Furthermore, considering the lives that have been taken, the compensation for spouses—£30,000—is paltry. The insurers and companies knew about their liability and they knew what asbestos had done. The Parliament has a responsibility to right the bigger wrongs. However, the SSP will support the bill today.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid):
NPA
The next item of business is a debate on motion S2M-5628, in the name of Cathy Jamieson, that the Parliament agrees that the Rights of Relatives to Damages (...
The Deputy Minister for Justice (Johann Lamont):
Lab
The Rights of Relatives to Damages (Mesothelioma) (Scotland) Bill is a short but significant piece of legislation that will help a small group of people who ...
Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP):
SNP
I apologise, as I will have to leave the debate before the conclusion of the final speeches to go to a meeting of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.T...
Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con):
Con
It is a pleasure to speak in support of this short and unusual bill. It is a measure of the unanimity of the support for the bill that there were no stage 3 ...
Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD):
LD
I am pleased to speak at stage 3 of the Rights of Relatives to Damages (Mesothelioma) (Scotland) Bill.I have been in the Parliament for only four years, wher...
Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab):
Lab
I think that the member is correct. I cannot recall a previous occasion on which there were no amendments to a bill at stage 3—although I am sure that I will...
Mike Pringle:
LD
Absolutely—without question.The non-contentious nature of this bill was clearly evident in the shortest ever briefing from the Law Society of Scotland. I was...
Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab):
Lab
I, too, am pleased to speak in the debate. As members said, many people should be congratulated on their support for the bill: my Labour colleagues Des McNul...
Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP):
SNP
As I have said before, we whole-heartedly welcome the bill as a means of bringing some justice to those who are affected by mesothelioma and their relatives....
Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green):
Green
In my brief speech, I will record my party's support for the bill. This is a short, circumscribed but very important bill, which, because it has received sup...
Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP):
SSP
The Scottish Socialist Party very much welcomes and supports the bill. Politics is about power: who has it and how they use it. Although I am part of the con...
Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab):
Lab
Members know that there has been a long history of tackling the injustice of mesothelioma. The Parliament has attempted to use its powers to reform the law, ...
John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP):
SSCUP
By the law of averages, I have no right to be standing here, because I worked in the shipyards. In 1947—60 years ago now—I worked in the city of Johannesburg...
Mike Pringle:
LD
The Deputy Minister for Justice set out all the essential details of the bill, so I will not go over them again. She made an extremely good point about an is...
John Swinburne:
SSCUP
I think that it was not so much that the employers did not know, as that they did not care. That is the difference.
Mike Pringle:
LD
I agree almost entirely with that point. That shows how irresponsible some of our industries were, given that the facts were known a long time ago.This is a ...
Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con):
Con
I declare a technical interest, in that I am the beneficiary of an insurance company pension. I am sure that this is the first time that anyone in the Parlia...
Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP):
SNP
It is no great secret that we have some fairly confrontational debates in this place from time to time and that, although we speak this afternoon in a spirit...
The Deputy Minister for Communities (Des McNulty):
Lab
I am delighted to have the opportunity to wind up this debate on the Rights of Relatives to Damages (Mesothelioma) (Scotland) Bill, which takes forward the w...