Labour MSP’s push for work injury advisory council fails

A Bill which would have created a body to advise the Government on support for people injured at work has been voted down by MSPs.

The Scottish Employment Injuries Advisory Council (Scotland) Bill, proposed by Labour MSP Mark Griffin, was defeated at stage one by 20 votes to 95.

The Scottish Government is set to take control of benefits for people injured at work from the UK Government and Mr Griffin urged MSPs “not to turn the backs on workers”.

“Nurses, social care workers, teachers, footballers and shop workers who have become ill directly because of work they do – they deserve our support,” he said during the debate on Thursday.

Under an agreement with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), a business case for the implementation of the new benefit – Employment Injury Assistance (EIA) – must be published by the end of March 2026.

Creation of the council, Mr Griffin said, would allow for those with lived experience to be “at the table” from the start of devising the new benefit.

“The time for action is now,” he added.

“This Bill represents a crucial opportunity to deliver meaningful change, and I would ask the Government – if not now, then when?”

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville spoke against the Bill on Thursday, but indicated she broadly supported the principles of the proposals.

“While the Government does not oppose the principle of a Scottish advisory council, Mr Griffin’s Bill would introduce such a body without EIA being in place,” she said.

“The concerns that (Mr Griffin) raised in his opening remarks will not actually be addressed if the advisory council is in place.

“They don’t actually help us get closer to helping the people that the member spoke about.”

Given the benefit has not yet been set up, Ms Somerville said, the Government would not be able to act on the recommendations of the advisory body.

Speaking after the vote, Mr Griffin said the Scottish Government “has chosen to turn its back on the frontline workers now struggling with long Covid, the firefighters diagnosed with cancer and the ex-professional footballers suffering from dementia”.

He added: “Today was the first test for Humza Yousaf after his warm words of working in the interests of working people.

“It is clear those words mean nothing after their failure to accelerate progress towards a fairer, more equal industrial injuries system in Scotland.

“Supporting the Bill was an opportunity to put the voices and lived experiences of workers at the centre of the design and delivery of a benefit they should be entitled to.

“An opportunity to do things differently in Scotland, which the SNP-Green government has failed to seize.”