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Superfast Ferries (Scottish Jobs) (IP50)
Petition IP50, from Norrie McVicar, calls on the Scottish Parliament to secure jobs for Scottish seafarers on the Superfast Ferries Rosyth to Zeebrugge route.
The issue is important, but unfortunately there is nothing we can do about it.
The issue is reserved to Westminster.
Is there a mechanism by which we can pass such petitions to the appropriate committee at Westminster?
I think that we can send the petition to the Minister for Transport, Nicol Stephen, and say that we cannot deal with the subject but would like to bring it to his attention.
The issue is important. The problem is that the Scottish Parliament does not have full powers, which means that Mike Watson is right: there is nothing that we can do at the moment. I am not being facetious, but I think that it would be a travesty for the Scottish Parliament to turn around and say to the petitioner that we are sorry but there is nothing that we can do, even though Scottish people are subject to discrimination in relation to employment opportunities while citizens of other European states are not. We should send the petition to Westminster. We should alert the petitioner to the fact that he can raise the matter with his MP. We have to do something; we cannot just say that the petition is inadmissible and leave it at that.
Having been involved in securing the Superfast Ferries service for Rosyth, as one of the MSPs for the area, I am concerned when an issue such as this arises. I would be keen to send the petition not only to Alistair Darling, the Westminster Secretary of State for Transport, but to Gwyneth Dunwoody, the chair of the House of Commons Transport Committee. I keep an eye on that committee's website and know that, from time to time, it takes evidence in relation to various inquiries.
That is a useful suggestion.
There is no getting away from the fact that the petition is inadmissible. We have 72 MPs at Westminster and I suggest that Sandra White makes use of them instead of indulging in fantasy politics. The Public Petitions Committee should live in the here and now.
Can the Public Petitions Committee take a view on the petition?
Yes, we can. Our view is that this is an important issue—
Our mouth is zipped on it—
That is not what was said, but we recognise that the matter is reserved. Whether members want that to be the case—and we can take it as a given that Sandra White does not approve of the status quo without her having to repeat that at every meeting—the reality is that the Public Petitions Committee can deal with only those matters that the Scottish Parliament can deal with. This is not one of those matters. We have expressed the view that, because it is an important issue, we will send the petition to the Transport Committee at Westminster, making that committee aware of our views on the issue. No one's mouth has been zipped and we have not torn up the constitution of Britain.
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