Congratulations on your article about pleural plaques (14 March, page 36), as it is an important issue that deserves prominent and regular attention.

To my mind the attitude of the House of Lords simply beggars belief. The extended quotes from Tony O’Brien and John Scott gave a vivid insight into the distress that this matter is causing, though it was perhaps a pity that we didn’t hear from workers who were not “union stalwarts”, so to speak. I hope that the government moves from examining the problem very closely to doing something about it.

As a regular reader of Building I must say that I particularly enjoy articles in which “ordinary” workers on site or in the office get a chance to talk at length about matters that affect them, whether it is on health and safety, pay, conditions or whatever. They make a nice change from the sometimes overly deferential interviews with chief executives that regularly pop up.

Michael Wagstaff, Colchester, Essex

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