Contents
- Attendance
- New Petitions
- Continued Petitions
New Petitions
Wildlife Crime (Penalties and Investigation) (PE1705)
I welcome everyone to the 15th meeting in 2018 of the Public Petitions Committee. The first item on our agenda is consideration of new petitions.
The first petition is PE1705, by Alex Milne. Members have a copy of the petition and the briefing prepared by the Scottish Parliament information centre and the clerks. The petition calls for a review of the penalties that are available for incidents of wildlife crime and the methods by which wildlife crime is investigated. The petitioner considers that by increasing the minimum punishment to three years in prison, a crime would be categorised as serious, which in turn would allow investigating authorities to use covert video surveillance. The issue of wildlife crime has previously been considered by the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee.
Do members have any comments or suggestions for action?
I am a member of the ECCLR Committee, which has followed the issue extremely closely over the past few years. I have a lot of sympathy for the petition.
Given that there does not seem to have been much movement on the Scottish Government’s side with regard to Professor Poustie’s recommendation to increase penalties, the petition is quite timely. We need to know where the Scottish Government is with regard to its proposed consultation and the introduction of primary legislation. If there is to be primary legislation, time is running out in this parliamentary session. It would therefore be good to have some clarity on that.
We agree to write to the Scottish Government to seek its views on the action called for in the petition and on Angus MacDonald’s point about timescales. A general nod in the direction of the issue would not be sufficient; we would want something more specific.
Indeed.
Angus MacDonald mentioned the ECCLR Committee. Perhaps we should flag up the petition with that committee in advance of scrutiny of the 2017 annual report on wildlife crime in Scotland.
The committee is due to look at the wildlife crime report in January, so the sooner that it is made aware of this petition the better.
Are there any other suggestions?
Can we seek the views of other stakeholders? I am not sure who would that be.
That is an important idea. We can ask the clerks to look at which might be the best groups. Obviously, people who are closely involved with this issue in the ECCLR Committee might have views and suggestions. We know from coverage yesterday on social media that there has been further commentary on cruelty to animals and protection of wildlife. The committee has dealt previously with this theme in relation to mountain hares and other creatures. It is something that there is a lot of interest in.
We agree to write to the Scottish Government, to take the views of other stakeholders and to flag the petition up to the ECCLR Committee. Is that agreed?
Members indicated agreement.
We thank the petitioner for their timely petition.
Rented and Supported Accommodation (Pets) (PE1706)
The next petition for consideration is PE1706, by Geraldine Mackenzie. The petition calls for a law to be introduced so that all Scottish residents who live in rented and supported accommodation are allowed to keep pets. Our briefing states that there is no legislation in Scotland that specifically bans pets from being kept in rented or supported accommodation and goes on to explain that it is the type of tenancy agreement that a tenant has that determines whether they can keep pets in their property.
The petitioner argues that there are legal precedents that support legislation that bans no-pet covenants, citing a journal article providing examples of legislation in other countries prohibiting the use of no-pet covenants.
Do members have any comments or suggestions for action?
This is a difficult one. I completely understand that pets help with social isolation. There is also the fact that there is no legislation in Scotland that bans pets from being kept in rented or supported accommodation. However, to support the petitioner perhaps we could write to the likes of Shelter Scotland and the Scottish Association of Landlords. There may be other rental sector organisations and housing associations that the clerks could get in touch with. On that point, it may be in the interest of the petitioner to be in touch with more housing associations. I am not clear whether that is our responsibility.
We could contact the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations; I expect that it will have a view and that it gives advice to its members.
A general issue, perhaps for older people, is that a pet can be a great companion. We know that some homeless people will not accept accommodation if they are unable to take their pet with them. Some people end up on the streets because their companion cannot be accommodated with them. That strikes me as an issue that must be dealt with. On the other hand, neglected pets in properties can cause problems for other residents. I would be interested to know how housing associations that allow pets get the balance right. How easy is it to police tenants who are not looking after their pets properly?
Are there any other views?
We could seek the Scottish Government’s views on the petition.
Claudia Beamish, in my party, has raised the issue, which she sees as one of inclusion. I am not sure whether the Scottish Government has responded to that, but it must be aware of the issue. Representations have been made by groups such as Shelter Scotland. It would be interesting to know whether the Scottish Government thinks that there is an issue and whether it thinks that it requires legislation—those are two different things. We acknowledge the social good, but it may be worth establishing whether legislation is required.
Might it be worth seeking the thoughts of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities? Whether they are for or against it, local authorities have to deal with the issue all the time.
Is it agreed that we contact the Scottish Government, COSLA, Shelter Scotland, the Scottish Association of Landlords and the SFHA? That would give us an opportunity to reflect not just on whether what is asked for in the petition is a good thing, but on whether we need to legislate for it, and what kinds of safeguards and protections should be put in place.
Members indicated agreement.
I thank the petitioner for the petition. We will seek those responses and come back to the petition at a later date. At that point, the petitioner will have a further opportunity to respond to any submissions that have been made.
I suspend briefly to allow witnesses for the next item to join us at the table.
09:25 Meeting suspended.
09:25 On resuming—
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