Chamber and committees

I am happy to do that.

I do not mean to generalise, but my experience with health boards, particularly those with no such appeals processes, is that a determination is made and anyone who then tries to pursue any alternatives meets a blank wall. The absence of an appeals process in this case is a failing, because, with the example that Rhoda Grant has expressed an interest in, a subjective view seems to have been taken with regard to excluding this body, and that is that—even though it is, as Ms Grant seems to be saying, the body that local people are using to try to make these kinds of representations.

We will, in the first instance, try to get some idea of the timeline for the work on developing an appeals process, as we would not want that to be open ended.

I thank the petitioners for their contribution over a sustained period of time. Considerable progress has been made, and they can take a lot of congratulation and satisfaction from the fact that that is the case. As David Torrance has suggested, we will encourage the Scottish Government to continue to engage as the various projects progress.

Good morning and welcome to the seventh meeting in session?6?of the?Scottish Parliament’s Citizen Participation and?Public Petitions Committee. We will be considering two items: continued petitions and new petitions.

The first petition that we are considering, PE1662, on improving testing and treatment for Lyme disease and associated tick-borne diseases, is of long standing. It was lodged by Janey?Cringean?and Lorraine Murray on behalf of the Tick-borne Illness Campaign Scotland. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to improve testing and treatment for Lyme disease and associated tick-borne diseases by ensuring that medical professionals in Scotland are fully equipped to deal with the complexity of tick-borne infections.?

When the petition was last considered, in September, we agreed to seek an update from the Scottish Government?on the outcome of the round-table event that was due to be held to bring together clinicians, patient representatives and public health experts to discuss testing, treatment and the raising of awareness;? on any progress that had been made in establishing an infectious diseases managed clinical network; and on the steps that were being taken by the Scottish Government to?encourage?research into Lyme disease.

In its submission, the Scottish Government confirmed that?two?round-table events have taken place?and, as a result?of those, two sub-groups have been set up—on raising public awareness and? on the education of healthcare professionals. Both sub-groups have met in recent weeks.? Work to establish an infectious diseases managed clinical network has been?delayed?due to the Covid-19 pandemic.?On research, the Scottish Government?has agreed that it will work with?the Scottish Lyme disease and?tick-borne?infections laboratory at Raigmore hospital to consider potential improvements to testing methods and processes.?

Meanwhile, the petitioners suggest from their perspective that?the meetings that have been held so far have been promising but that more is needed.?Although they were involved in the round-table events and the sub-group on public awareness, they are not represented on the sub-group on the education of healthcare?professionals.?

The petitioners stress that a key aim of their petition is to improve?treatment for those who are chronically ill?with Lyme disease or another tick-borne disease, and they suggest that it is crucial to ensure that healthcare providers receive adequate training to help them recognise and treat such conditions.? ?They make a number of suggestions?for suitable training resources.? They suggest that the establishment of an infectious diseases?managed clinical network?is not a suitable?alternative to creating specialist treatment centres. They feel that, although there has been progress in a number of areas, certain elements of their petition have not been addressed.?

In passing, I mention the interest in the petition, over time, from our colleague Alexander Burnett, who held a members’ business debate on the topic.

It seems to me that a considerable amount has been achieved. I ask David Torrance to remind us newbies on the committee of the work that was undertaken last session on what is a long-standing petition.

Thank you both very much. Do any colleagues want to respond to that? I am minded to keep the petition open if the committee is so minded. Rhoda Grant suggested that we contact HIAL to get a clear idea of its plan, including what buildings have already been purchased and the potential loss of money in relation to those.

That is without casting aspersions on anybody. We simply cannot substantiate the point. Nobody can.

Are we minded to keep the petition open, to write to the Scottish Government further on monitoring—that is the key issue that arises from the petition—and to ask how, in the absence of monitoring, it can be assured that we have in place the provisions that are required?

No alternative in the event that that delay becomes permanent.

The next petition is PE1837, on which colleagues might remember that we took evidence at our previous meeting. The petition was lodged by Stephen Leighton and calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to clarify how autistic people who do not have a learning disability and/or mental disorder can access support and to allocate investment for autism support teams in every local authority or health and social care partnership in Scotland.

We last considered the petition on 6 October, when we took evidence from Kevin Stewart, the Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care, and two Scottish Government officials: Hugh McAloon, deputy director for children and young people’s mental health; and Jacqueline Campbell, unit head, children and young people’s community mental health. The evidence-taking session highlighted a number of key themes, including learning disability and autism in legislation, access to support services, user-centred services and good practice; and funding.

At that session, the minister stated that the Scottish Government was committed to publishing a learning disability, autism and neurodiversity bill and to creating a commissioner to uphold and protect the rights of autistic people and others with neurodevelopmental difference.

The committee also heard that the support that is available to people with autism varies significantly across Scotland—that was quite marked—and could be particularly scarce for those who do not also have a learning disability or mental disorder, which is at the heart of the petitioner’s concern. That increased the risk that people could be turned away from services, leaving them with no alternative route for support.

The minister recognised the need

“to ascertain what is going on out there that is right and what is not going ... so well”—[Official Report, Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee, 6 October 2021; c 26.]

and emphasised the importance for people with autism to influence decision making. The minister also highlighted a number of recent funding announcements that are relevant to the petition, and it was a very informative evidence session.

David Torrance, do you agree as well?