Public Petitions Committee,
Meeting date: Tuesday, May 21, 2002
Official Report
298KB pdf
Convener's Report
I remind members of the special meeting on 18 June to follow up the petition on the Scottish Bus Group pension scheme. On Thursday 6 June at 2.45 pm, there is an ordinary meeting of the Public Petitions Committee, which will be covered on television by "Holyrood Live", as the Parliament will not meet that week.
I also draw members' attention to a letter that we have received from the action group for Chalmers hospital. Members may remember that the group petitioned us some time ago about the future of Chalmers hospital. It says:
"On behalf of the Action Group for Chalmers Hospital in Banff I would like to thank you and the other members of the Petitions Committee for contacting both the Scottish Executive and Grampian Health Board. I am personally convinced that this has had a beneficial effect."
The letter says that the response that the group is now getting from the authorities is different from the response that it received before the petition was submitted to the committee. That is a pat on the back for everyone.
Members may be aware that an older petition is related to the petitions that we discussed in connection with SNH this morning. PE246 was from Kildalton and Oa, Kilarrow and Kilmeny, and Kilcoman and Partnahaven community councils, and related to the proposed SAC designation of the south-east Islay skerries.
Following the committee's consideration of PE246 and subsequent responses to it, we agreed to ask the European Committee for its views on the more general issues raised by the petition about the designation of SACs and the adequacy of the consultation processes. The European Committee has responded. It has said that it had decided to consider consultation in respect of the skerries but the Executive decided to designate the area before it had the opportunity to do so. The European Committee also noted that although it would not have been possible for it to recommend that the designation should not go ahead, clearer and more effective communication of the Executive's plans while the committee was still considering the petition would have been helpful.
Consideration of the petition has not been formally concluded. Therefore, it is suggested that, given the clear relationship between the issues raised in petition PE246 and the petitions that we have just discussed, we should agree to link our consideration of it to the petitions in connection with SNH. Once we have had our briefing, we will be able to return to the issue. Is that agreed?
Members indicated agreement.
Will you refresh our memories? Is it correct that the Public Petitions Committee will not meet in Aberdeen?
The next meeting will be on Thursday 6 June at 2.45 pm and will be televised live. There is also a meeting on 18 June, which is the Scottish Bus Group meeting. The Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning, Lewis Macdonald, will give evidence. As we agreed this morning, another meeting has still to be arranged concerning SNH.
I give my apologies—the Rural Development Committee will be in Huntly on 6 June. I think that John Farquhar Munro will be in the same position.
You will miss your chance to appear live on television.
I thank members for attending.
Meeting closed at 12:23.