Minutes: 10 September 2026

1. Declarations of interests:

Members of the Committee were invited to declare any relevant interests. Julie MacDougall declared an interest as a local councillor on Fife Council. David Torrance had no relevant interests to declare.

2. Decision on taking business in private:

The Committee agreed to take item 5 in private.

3. Consideration of continued petitions:

The Committee consider the following continued petitions—

• PE1370: Justice for Megrahi. The Committee agreed to refer the petition to the Criminal Justice Committee for further consideration and to write to the Petitioner for an update.
• PE1458: Register of Interests for members of Scotland's judiciary. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders. 
• PE2136: Make non-fatal strangulation a standalone criminal offence in Scotland. The Committee agreed to refer the petition to the Criminal Justice Committee.
• PE1933: Allow the Fornethy Survivors to access Scotland’s redress scheme. The Committee agreed to write to the Deputy First Minister and the Petitioner for further updates.
• 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 write to the Scottish Government for further evidence, and to write to Professor Alexis Jay OBE for her view on how the Petitioners might engage with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
• PE2099: Stop the proposed centralisation of specialist neonatal units in NHS Scotland. The Committee agreed to take further evidence from the Scottish Government.
• PE2161: Extend the time period for complaints through the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman for neurodivergent people to two years. The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman to seek further evidence and to write to the Social Justice, Housing and Local Government Committee to seek its views on the issues raised in the petition.
• PE2202: Stop the Guga Hunt. The Committee agreed to write to NatureScot to seek further evidence. The Committee will consider opportunities to take further evidence from the local community and other stakeholders.
  

4. Consideration of new petitions:

he Committee will consider the following new petitions—

• PE2212: Conduct a national review of local authority safeguarding and equality compliance frameworks. The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman for further evidence.
• PE2213: Introduce the Small Animal road signs in Scotland. The Committee agreed to write to stakeholders to seek further evidence and seek to arrange a visit to the Burntisland Hedgehog Haven or another appropriate venue. David Torrance indicated that he has previously engaged with the petitioner in his capacity as a constituency member. Julie MacDougall indicated that she has previously engaged with the petitioner in her capacity as a local councillor.
• PE2215: Introduce a Statutory National Anti-Bullying Policy and Strengthen Consequences for Bullying in Scottish Schools. The Committee agreed to write to the Petitioner to seek their views on the Scottish Government's response and to write to relevant stakeholders to seek their views. 
• PE2216: Extend Young Persons' Free Bus Travel to include all under-26s. The Committee agreed to close this petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.
• PE2219: Review the Mandatory Minimum Five-Year Prison Sentence for Firearms Offences. The Committee agreed to close this petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders but in doing so to write to the UK Parliament Scottish Affairs Committee highlighting the issues raised in the petition.
• PE2220: Support Retrofit Training for a Greener Scotland and Just Transition. The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government and stakeholders to seek their views, and to consider further the possibility of an appropriate visit.
  

5. Work programme (in private):

The Committee considered its work programme and agreed the following actions—

• To consider a new determination on the proper form of petitions at a future meeting;
• To consider how the Committee can track petitions which are awaiting further work by a relevant agency, so that they can be reconsidered appropriately;
• To continue the predecessor committee's practice of not routinely inviting petitioners to give oral evidence, but to have the flexibility to invite petitioners to attend if appropriate;
• To consider a paper at a future meeting on innovative ways in which the Committee can consider matters raised in petitions; and
• To identify opportunities to raise awareness of the petitions system among Members.