Minutes: 25 February 2026

1. Consideration of continued petitions:

The Committee considered the following continued petitions—

• PE1887: Create an Unborn Victims of Violence Act. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.

• PE2193: Address Dangerous Delays in Paediatric Cancer Diagnostics. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.

• PE2085: Introduce a statutory definition of residency for Fatal Accident Inquiries into the deaths of Scots abroad. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.

• PE1900: Access to prescribed medication for detainees in police custody. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders. 

• PE1979: Establish an independent inquiry and an independent national whistleblowing officer to investigate concerns about the alleged mishandling of child safeguarding enquiries by public bodies. The Committee agreed to keep the petition open.

• PE2028: Extend the concessionary bus travel scheme to include people seeking asylum in Scotland. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders. In closing the petition, the Committee agreed to write to the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity.

• PE2113: Provide support to RAAC-affected communities. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.

• PE2118: Review and restructure Scotland’s flood risk management approach and operations. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.

• PE2130: Make it illegal to remove all the hair from a horse’s tail. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.

• PE2161: Extend the time period for complaints through the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman for neurodivergent people to two years. The Committee agreed to keep the petition open.

• PE2165: Raise awareness of and provide educational resources and training for Functional Neurological Disorder (FND). The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.

• PE2170: Abolish the General Teaching Council for Scotland. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.

• PE2173: Ban ultra-processed foods in school meals. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.

• PE2178: Introduce mandatory latex labelling for food products sold in Scotland. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.

• PE2185: Introduce stronger safeguards around the use of digital material in court proceedings. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.

• PE2188: Extend the National Entitlement Card scheme to include ferry travel for people aged 60 and over. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.

• PE2196: Address early sexual offending in Scotland. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.