Hansard

I congratulate Ken Macintosh on securing this very important debate and on his commitment to the cross-party group on cancer. I do not know whether Shona Robison, who has a constituency engagement, will be able to stay for the whole debate, so I shall press on.

The most recent parliamentary answer on deaths from cervical cancer reveals that, in 1975, 55 per cent of deaths were in the age group 60 and over, 44 per cent were 30 to 59, and 0.8 per cent were under 30. It is the latter group that we must consider, because the written answer went on to show that although the figures for 2004 remained fairly static for the first two groups—60 and over, and 30 to 59—the figure for the under-30s had risen to nearly 4 per cent. Ken Macintosh properly focused on that increase. I fully endorse what he said. The vaccine is not, as it were, a magic bullet—the intention is not to mislead people—but neither is it an endorsement of promiscuity. It will not accelerate promiscuity; it is an example of something that can be used to help women, indeed to prevent them dying.

The vaccine is not the complete solution. Every year, more than 500 women in Scotland are diagnosed as having cervical cancer. It must be a dreadful diagnosis, but it is not the end for all—although about 100 do die. Because of the high level of underage sex to which I have already referred, the incidence among younger women is increasing. More than 30 per cent of girls aged 15 are sexually active. The solution is a mixture of addressing the vaccine and looking at behaviour. I note what Ken Macintosh said about the vaccine and I understand that different ones are available. I do not know the technicalities but, so far, the one to which he referred has been effective.

Shona Robison mentioned delay. I understand that the JCVI first met to discuss the vaccine on 25 October. Ken Macintosh's comment that it is a question not of "if" but of "when" gives me even more concern about a delay. I hope that the minister will address that. I understand that Austria is already running the programme and that the Nordic countries have committed themselves to it. As Ken Macintosh says, delaying this any further will unnecessarily cost lives. A woman's death impacts on the entire family.

As Ken Macintosh said, take-up of the smear test has been falling off. Perhaps familiarity breeds contempt, but it is terribly important that even with a national vaccine programme the Scottish screening programme should continue. Perhaps the minister will advise us how he will ensure people take up the invitation from their general practitioner to attend for a smear test. As we all know, the sooner cervical cancer is detected, the less invasive the treatment and the higher the chance of survival. That is important.

It is interesting that when mothers were asked whether they would allow their daughters to have the vaccine, 75 per cent said that they would. There is therefore parental consent for the vaccine, which gives the lie to the suggestion that people fear that it would encourage promiscuity.

We do not want to scare people. Most women have the virus most of the time, and most of them will never develop cancerous cells. Nevertheless, it is important that we have screening to detect the virus early and that, if it is detected, we are able to cure it. We should also be able to offer vaccination to prevent its occurrence, when that is appropriate.

I congratulate Ken Macintosh on securing the debate this evening.