Youth Football (PE1319)
Our next item of business is consideration of 11 continued petitions, the first of which is PE1319, by William Smith and Scott Robertson, on improving youth football in Scotland. Members have before them information that has been provided by the clerk and responses that we have received.
I am certainly keen to hear the response of the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland to the view of the Scottish Football Association and the Scottish Professional Football League and to the intended actions that they have set out.
Yes, it would be useful to know that. We can continue the petition on that basis.
Gender-neutral Human Papillomavirus Vaccination (PE1477)
The next petition is PE1477, by Jamie Rae on behalf of the Throat Cancer Foundation, on a gender-neutral human papillomavirus vaccination. Members have a note from the clerk, but I should point out that the petitioners contacted the clerks yesterday afternoon asking that the committee defer consideration of the petition until its next meeting to allow the petitioners to write to the committee in more depth. I understand that they would like to raise two concerns with the committee. The first is the length of time that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is taking to issue guidance on the matter, and the second is that the proposed HPV vaccine programme is not wide enough in its scope.
I am happy to defer consideration.
The petitioners might well have valid points. It would be good to get more detail from them in due course. I am certainly keen to keep the petition open until we get further information.
I think that that is agreed. We will consider the petition at our next meeting, which will give the petitioners time to get back to us.
Residential Care (Severely Learning-disabled People) (PE1545)
The next petition is PE1545, by Ann Maxwell, on behalf of the Muir Maxwell Trust, on residential care provision for the severely learning disabled. Members have a note from the clerk plus the submissions that we have received.
I do not know that we can do much with the petition. The issue is whether we close it or whether, because of some of the responses, there is still scope to leave it open and allow a future committee to see whether anything comes out of the deliberations. I am always reluctant to close a petition if there is still some work going on around it. A new committee might say that there is nowhere it can go with the petition but, given that some issues are outstanding, should we leave it open and add it to our legacy paper?
Members indicated agreement.
Electric Shock and Vibration Collars (PE1555)
Our next petition is PE1555, by Siobhan Garrahy, on electric shock and vibration collars for animals. What do members think? Is there any mileage in keeping the petition open or do we have the answers that we are going to get?
Given that the Scottish Government has said that it is reviewing the current situation and the law, there is not much more that the committee can do.
As I said, I am always reluctant to close a petition when a review is still happening, but the Government has made clear exactly what outcome it is looking for. There is not much more that we can do with the petition, so we will close it.
Animal Welfare (Rabbits) (PE1561)
The next petition is PE1561, by Karen Gray, on behalf of Rabbits Require Rights Scotland, on pet rabbit welfare. Do members have a view on how we deal with the petition?
We have gone as far as we can with it.
The only thing that we could do is ask the Government to speed up its work, but I do not know that that would make any difference in the long run. Will we close the petition?
I think that the committee has taken it as far as we can.
Sentencing (Disclosure of Occupations) (PE1572)
The next petition is PE1572, by Parveen Haq, on occupational disclosure in trials and sentencing. Members have a note and the submissions that have been received. The responses are pretty comprehensive and basically answer the questions that were put.
I think we can close the petition.
I think that we can close the petition and advise the petitioner.
LGBTI+ Issues (PE1573)
The next petition is PE1573, by Jordan Daly, on behalf of Time for Inclusive Education, on statutory teaching of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual and intersex plus—LGBTI+—issues. As was said when we considered the petition previously, although there is a lot of sympathy for the petition, the petitioner is asking for something to be set in stone in the curriculum, and that does not happen. However, the issues were raised and the committee took forward the issue and asked for a comprehensive analysis of the situation. The responses were positive, but I do not think that we can ask the Government to do what the petitioner asks, which is to set something in the curriculum and force education authorities and teachers to teach it. I think that the petitioner might understand that. They have raised an important issue, but I do not think that we can do anything more with the petition. Do members agree?
Members indicated agreement.
Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (Safety) (PE1574)
The next petition is PE1574, by Freda Birrell, on behalf of the UK Association of HPV Vaccine Injured Daughters, on HPV vaccine safety. Again, we have the submissions.
I think that we should close the petition under rule 15.7, considering that the European Commission is looking at the issue and its rulings will have a bearing on Scotland.
Do members agree with that?
Members indicated agreement.
Blue Badge Scheme (Eligibility Criteria) (PE1576)
Our next petition is PE1576, by Owain Martin, on blue badges for children with autism and Down’s syndrome. Again, we have had the submissions back and the response is pretty comprehensive. Therefore, under rule 15.7 of standing orders, we might want to close it.
There is a pilot scheme. If it does not work out to be satisfactory and is not taken further, to an extent, there would be grounds for a new petition. The ground has changed under our feet. I think that we have done all that we can.
Do we agree to close the petition on that basis?
Members indicated agreement.
Adult Cerebral Palsy Services (PE1577)
Our next petition is PE1577, by Rachael Wallace, on adult cerebral palsy services. Murdo Fraser has joined us. Do you want to make some comments or raise anything with us before we deliberate on the petition?
Thank you, convener. I was pleased to support Rachael Wallace when she came to the committee previously. I recall that members were impressed with the evidence that she gave.
We have had responses from the Scottish Government, Capability Scotland, which is supportive of the petition, and the petitioner. The Scottish Government has suggested a meeting between the petitioner and the minister, which would be very welcome. Members might recall that I have tried on a number of occasions to get such a meeting, so I am pleased that one has been offered and we would be happy to take that up. I am not aware that the minister’s office has been in touch to arrange a meeting as yet, but I am keen to pursue that.
However, I wonder whether a private meeting between the petitioner and the minister is sufficient, given that much broader issues are being raised in the petition. There is an impact on a range of adults other than simply the petitioner. Although Rachael Wallace and I would be pleased to have a meeting with the minister, I would not like that to be the sole outcome of the petition. I encourage members to consider what further action they might want to take to pursue the matter. For example, they might feel it appropriate to ask the minister to come before the committee to answer some of the questions that were raised in the original petition and in the detailed response from Capability Scotland.
Murdo Fraser is right to be concerned, because the issue is significant and important. The meeting might be a prelude to more than that, depending on where the Government is going. Given that time is tight, rather than getting the minister here, the first response would be to ask the Government to confirm whether the meeting will happen and then, after the meeting, to give us an indication of the outcome. Until then, we would be prejudging the issue. We should ask the minister to meet the petitioner and get back to us expeditiously.
We have to pursue the issue further. We need to clarify whether the meeting will take place—that is a legitimate request—but we also need to know what the Government wants to do to take forward a clinical pathway, because that is what is being asked for and I am not sure that we have an answer yet. We can write to the Government to get confirmation of the meeting and to ask it specifically about a clinical pathway. Is that all right?
Members indicated agreement.
We will take it forward in that manner. I thank Murdo Fraser for bringing that to our attention.
International Health Treaty Standards (Guidance) (PE1580)
The final continued petition is PE1580, by Sheila Duffy on behalf of ASH Scotland, on guidance for Parliament staff on international health treaty standards. We have received some additional information—members have on their desks a submission from the World Health Organization in response to the committee’s request for examples of good practice in other legislatures. The WHO has provided examples of practice in Governments and Government departments in various countries. It states that the examples that have been provided are
“generally more advanced as they concern government officials and government bodies”.
It goes on to say:
“Equivalent practices for legislative bodies are in the process of being developed in some countries.”
The Scottish Parliament has already looked at the issue. If it is being taken forward by the WHO and by other countries, I am sure that the Scottish Parliament would be party to any outcomes that emerge if there are any issues that need to be addressed in the way that the Parliament deals with tobacco companies.
I feel as though we have achieved all that we are going to achieve on the petition and we have identified all the information that we need. We should close the petition.
I agree. I am content with the response that we have received from the Presiding Officer assuring us that the framework convention on tobacco control guidelines is being followed. I am content to close the petition.
I think that we are agreed on that.
That brings us to the end of consideration of petitions. As agreed earlier, we now go into private session.
11:56 Meeting continued in private until 12:02.Previous
New Petitions