Chamber and committees

That moves us on to unmet need and demand. It is fine that we have segued into that, though.

Thank you. That is food for thought. Something that you and Helen Malo said reminded me that, several decades ago, I stood for election and had a line in my speech about the fact that, by 2000, we would have an ageing population of whatever number, and I asked what plans we were making for that. We are now 26 years on, and I hope that we will not be here in another 10 years asking what plans we made and where they went.

Thank you very much to the witnesses; it has been a very useful and thought-provoking session for us. I appreciate your coming in and also giving us extra time. No doubt we will meet again, but if there is something that we have missed or something that we have asked for, if you could send it in a nice short briefing, I would be grateful and more likely to make sure that I read it all.

We will now take a break before we come back for the next part of the public session.

11:15

Meeting suspended.

11:25

On resuming—

Is that something that we do online, or would we come in and do it?

I will follow up on a couple of things that you said, one of which was about care homes, dementia and statistics. There is clearly an increase in dementia, but they put that on my mother’s death certificate when she died and I do not think that that was an at-all-accurate reflection of what she died of. If someone is over a certain age and has been in a care home for a while, it is now quite likely that dementia will be given as a cause of death. I am interested in that from a medical perspective, although that is beyond the scope of this discussion. When did dementia become a cause of death as opposed to being something that people died with? I am cautious about those statistics.

That takes me to a second area. You made a point about competence and about people having the confidence to do something. If someone is being cared for at home, is it a problem that people may be concerned about using drugs that would be used only at the end of life? I am thinking about pain relief drugs, and the level of relief. Are care-at-home teams or staff in care homes being left to get on with it, whereas staff in hospitals could turn round and ask someone higher up the clinical tree, “Is it okay to do this?”. Does anyone see that as a problem, or am I wrong? Who would like to answer that?

The Sports Grounds and Sporting Events (Designation) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2026 is another instrument that is subject to the negative procedure, and I have had no notice of anyone wishing to lodge a motion to annul. Are members content that the SSI comes into force?

Members indicated agreement.

That concludes the meeting in public.

11:27

Meeting continued in private until 12:38.

This is the first time that the committee has considered secondary legislation. We have three negative Scottish statutory instruments to consider. We will take each in turn, starting with the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 regulations, which I do not think I need to read out, as we know what they are. The regulations are subject to the negative procedure, and I have had no notice of anyone on the committee wishing to lodge a motion to annul. Are members content that the SSI comes into force?

Members indicated agreement.

The Personal Injuries (NHS Charges) (Amounts) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2026 are also subject to the negative procedure, and I have had no notice of anyone on the committee wishing to lodge a motion to annul. Are members content that the SSI comes into force?

Members indicated agreement.

The Public Petitions Committee presents members of the public with a great opportunity to raise issues, and I welcome the opportunity to speak to this petition. As a Mid Scotland and Fife MSP, I have met the petitioner, Daphne Hamilton, who is one of the Unfair Nae Mair group, along with Julie MacDougall, who I am sure is about to speak to the petition. I have a few specific points to make. I also apologise for the fact that I have to get up and run afterwards, as I am late for a meeting.

If we consider the state of businesses on the high street, it is a major concern that some businesses are being charged a non-discretionary rate, which can be very high relative to their turnover. I support the point about raising a cap of 4 per cent. An individual business cannot say, “I’m not paying this. I don’t think I am getting anything out of it”. It is a burden on them. The fact that it varies so much across Scotland, including in Alloa, is one of the most important points.

I also have a concern about BID levies where businesses, or the owners of premises, are liable even if the shop is empty. We have a situation in which businesses might have ceased trading as a result of the current circumstances, but they are still liable to pay the levy. That could cause real harm. That is not reasonable. There is a rates exemption on empty properties for six months, so this issue is separate from that.

I agree with the point that ballot holders’ names should not be disclosed during a ballot. That would not happen in any other ballot. I appreciate that that I am speaking to the other petition, PE2227. I simply want to make the point that that is not reasonable. I support those points.

As to the point in the Scottish Government’s letter, the Government has lawyers, so seeking legal advice is not that difficult for it. On the issue of cost and resource, that is a matter for individual BID committees. That is a different matter to the points in the petition.

Thank you for hearing my representations on that. I am sorry that I cannot stay for the discussion.

Thank you very much. I appreciate it. I promise not to turn up every time you have a meeting.