Hansard

I, too, thank Marie McNair for securing the debate and bringing this important motion to the chamber today.

I start by stressing how important it is that we continue to raise awareness of mesothelioma. I do not have a family member who contracted the disease, but I saw a poster for an exhibition of portraits of people who had suffered from it. I thought it was such an astounding poster that I got in touch with Asbestos Action in Dundee and said, “I’m really sorry, but I didn’t manage to make it to that exhibition. Can I come and talk to you?” When I met the asbestos campaigners in Dundee, they were very quick to highlight the excellent work that Marie McNair has undertaken in the Parliament to raise awareness of the associated conditions and to advocate on behalf of those affected.

A few different charities work diligently across Scotland to support those living with conditions contracted due to exposure to asbestos. We have heard a lot today about the Clydebank Asbestos Group, but I want to focus on Asbestos Action in Dundee, a charity that supports those across the whole of the east coast who are living with asbestos-related diseases, including pleural plaques, asbestosis, asbestos-related lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Diane from Asbestos Action is in the public gallery today, and I hope that she will excuse me for sharing some details and praise for its work. It is a really small team of four people, and they do a huge amount of work to raise funding to keep the charity going. The support that Diane and her team provide is incredibly important to the men and women up and down the east coast of Scotland who find themselves suddenly diagnosed with asbestos-related conditions. They have supported hundreds of clients across Tayside over the past few years, almost half of whom live in Dundee. They also say that, wherever you call them from, you will get a home visit; whether you are in Inverness or Dumfries, they will come and see you.

Often, Asbestos Action staff are dealing with people who are terminally ill. They and their families may have discovered the severity of the condition only very recently. The staff turn up, sit with people, listen to the stories of those affected, help them to trace their work histories, and support their families both before and after the illness has taken its toll. Many who do that work have personal experience from their own families. They stand with those affected, and their families, at the hardest and most traumatic of times. It is emotionally demanding, but vital, work.

One testimonial about Asbestos Action that I read really stuck with me, and I want to share it today. It simply said:

“Pass on my thanks for all the hard work undertook on behalf of my father. He was a very proud man and if he’s looking down would be delighted to know how much this ‘legacy’ has helped his daughters, and in particular, his granddaughter”

When you or your family members find themselves a victim of an asbestos-related condition, it is groups such as Asbestos Action that step in to offer support and ensure that you and your family will get the advice that they need.

I will also take a moment to highlight the new generation of victims of this disease. Many of the new cases coming forward are women who did not work in industry but who were teachers, health workers and office workers. We have heard some stories today, and it can be very difficult for them to pinpoint precisely where they would have been exposed to asbestos. It could have been in any of the offices, schools, healthcare settings or homes that they worked in. Such locations are less easy to identify than the large industrial sites, and the women may not have worked directly with asbestos, but they worked in buildings where asbestos is still present.

However, any application for industrial injuries disablement benefit requires a person to identify exactly where and when they were exposed to asbestos, which creates an additional barrier for those women in seeking some form of compensation. We know from the statistics that the percentage of men getting some form of settlement is much higher than the percentage of women. If someone cannot identify the source site of exposure, or prove the link, their only route is to apply for a PWC1 lump-sum payment. However, that also requires those women to sign away any future claims they might have in future civil cases. More needs to be done to support this new generation who are finding themselves affected by asbestos in a different landscape. Many of those affected are currently missing out on relevant benefits and support, and the complexities involved are preventing them from getting the support that they need. Groups such as Asbestos Action are doing all that they can to raise awareness of those difficulties.

I hope that today’s debate will raise further awareness of the issues affecting those who are living with the condition, and I will do all that I can to support Marie McNair in any work that she takes forward in the Parliament to remove the time bar and get those people the justice that they deserve.