Public Petitions Committee, 02 Nov 1999

Meeting date: Tuesday, November 2, 1999

Official Report 189KB pdf

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Convener's Report

The convener of the Procedures Committee, Murray Tosh, responded to our letter about changing the standing orders to allow the submission of petitions on other than sitting days. His letter states:

"I quite agree, at first sight, that the current procedure seems unduly restrictive. I have discussed your request briefly with the Clerk to the Procedures Committee, and he will set in motion the work to make an amendment to existing practices.

If the legal advice indicates that this can be done easily and quickly, then the Clerk will seek approval from the Members of the Procedures Committee to have a paper with a recommendation placed before the next Committee Meeting. This would hopefully allow us to include the necessary amendment in the resolution which we will bring forward to change standing orders in a variety of respects in the period after the recess."

We have a letter from the Presiding Officer asking conveners to draw it to the attention of committees that meet in the chamber that we should not invite members of the public in the galleries to sit in members' seats. There is an allegation that they interfere with the sound system and disrupt the Parliament.

The Parliament?

Some of the committees have to meet in the Parliament building, and rather than have the public sitting up in the gallery, some committees have invited them to sit where members sit.

Were they naughty?

The allegation is that they interfere with the sound system. I do not know whether that is the case.

I do not understand, because a card is needed to use it.

The next conveners liaison group is this afternoon, and I will report back if there is anything further on that.