Chamber and committees

Yes, I am happy to do that. The Parliament has a proud record of support for wheelchair users. In my first parliamentary session, Trish Godman led on the subject of bespoke wheelchairs. At that stage, Scotland provided a very poor service, but the Scottish Government introduced significant additional funding, which has transformed the lives of many people. However, sometimes, we forget that those better, bespoke wheelchairs have to be able to be deployed in a practical way in order for the individual to get the additional access. Some things are out of sight and out of mind. We have previously heard about issues relating to taxi access for people with wheelchairs, but there is something here for us to hear about as well and I would welcome any evidence that our colleague Pam Duncan-Glancy might be able to give to the committee. I suggest that we hold the petition open on the basis that we hear from her, and see whether that stimulates anything further that we might be able to do. Are we agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

Thank you. As colleagues have no other suggestions, I think that we all agree with that. In the first instance, we will write to the teaching unions and get their parallel evidence in relation to the evidence that we already have and see where that takes us. It may well be that it leads to our agreeing to take further evidence on the petition at a forthcoming committee meeting.

Members indicated agreement.

Agenda item 2 is consideration of new petitions. I make it clear to anybody who has lodged a petition and who may be looking in this morning that we have, as a course of practice, sought the Scottish Government’s views on the petition and sometimes also considered a range of other submissions that have been sought or received. We therefore come to the discussion not blind but having had the opportunity to read some background material in relation to petitions that have been submitted.

PE1904, which was lodged by Christina Fisher, seeks to change Scots law to disqualify estranged spouses from making claims on an estate. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to define in law the difference between a legally married cohabiting couple and a legally married non-cohabiting couple for the purposes of ensuring that an estranged spouse cannot inherit their spouse’s assets.

The SPICe briefing accompanying the petition sets out the current legal position in relation to inheritance law in Scotland. It notes that section 1 of the Succession (Scotland) Act 2016 sets out that, where a person has made a will, when that person gets divorced or their civil partnership is dissolved, any provision in a will benefiting their former spouse or civil partner ceases to apply. However, there is no equivalent statutory provision in section 1 covering the situation where the person is estranged from their spouse or civil partner, but there has been no divorce or dissolution of the civil partnership. There is also no provision covering where a person has made a will benefiting their cohabitant, but the cohabiting relationship later breaks down.

In its submission, the Scottish Government states that it has carried out consultation to keep the law of succession under review, with the most recent consultation analysis published in May 2020. It notes that

“while the law of succession affects everyone it can also divide opinion”,

and that

“there must be some degree of consensus on what reforms will deliver outcomes that are appropriate for the majority of people in Scotland.”

The petitioner’s anomaly is actual. In light of that, what comments might colleagues wish to make?

PE1905, on the response of religious organisations to allegations of child sexual abuse since 1950, has been lodged by Angela Rosina Cousins on behalf of UK XJWs Support. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to order a public inquiry into the actions taken by religious organisations in response to child sexual abuse allegations since 1950.

The petitioner is a survivor of child sexual abuse who believes that she was failed by people in her church when she reported her abuse. She has provided further details of her experiences in a late submission, which has been shared with the committee. She calls for an investigation into the response of religious organisations that were informed about allegations of abuse against children who were not in care.

The petitioner argues that the scope of the current Scottish child abuse inquiry is too narrow, as it is able to investigate only the abuse of children in care. In contrast, the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse in England and Wales has powers to investigate abuse in religious organisations generally and the inquiry recently published a report on the topic.

The Scottish Government states that there was extensive consultation and engagement with abuse survivors in relation to the Scottish child abuse inquiry’s remit and acknowledges that

“there was not unanimity on the extent of the remit amongst survivors, and that some wished for the remit to be broadened.”

In 2016, the Deputy First Minister addressed this issue directly, stating:

“If we set a remit that, in practice, would take many more years to conclude, we fail to respond to the survivors of in-care abuse who have taken us at our word, in Government and in Parliament, that we will learn from their experience and, by addressing the systematic failures that existed, ensure that it can never happen again.”—[Official Report, 17 November 2016; c 41.]

The Scottish Government states that it has no plans to reconsider the remit of the Scottish child abuse inquiry.

Do members have any comments or suggestions for action?

I have a small parallel concern, having spoken to elderly constituents, in particular, who have only just lately become aware of all this. They are slightly worried about the bona fides of people who might fit such devices. Previously, we have had concerns about the elderly being preyed on by some, and I would like to get an understanding from the Scottish Government of what security there is and whether it feels that appropriate advice on the matter has been given to all households. I know that that does not fall within the scope of the petition, but it is a related point of concern.

Thank you for your comments, Mr Kidd. Do members agree with the suggested action?

Members indicated agreement.

Our final petition is PE1911, which has been lodged by Ann McNair. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to review the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 and relevant guidance to ensure that all post mortems can be carried out only with the permission of the next of kin; that brains are not routinely removed; and that tissues and samples are offered to next of kin as a matter of course.

I would like to start by immediately acknowledging the very difficult circumstances in which the petitioner brings us her petition and which have been detailed in the petition and the submission. The petitioner’s child died suddenly and underwent a post mortem that was much more extensive in nature than the petitioner had originally thought it would be, and which involved the removal of tissue from her child. The petitioner was told that tissue samples

“belonged to no particular person”

and would be held as part of medical records.

The petitioner also notes that it took her 10 months to locate her child’s tissue samples and that

“No-one seemed to know where these samples were being held”.

She also says:

“I felt these tissue samples were still part of my child.”

She highlights that practice in Scotland is different from that in the rest of the United Kingdom, where tissue samples are automatically offered back to the family.

The Scottish Government’s submission sets out the different types of post-mortem examinations that are carried out in Scotland and explains how tissue samples are collected and stored. The submission states:

“Tissue samples are a very small part of an organ”

and are “chemically treated” to

“produce a tissue block ... from which a very thin section can be cut by a biomedical scientist.”

The Scottish Government also notes that, if a nearest relative requests the return of tissue blocks,

“any reasonable request will be treated sympathetically by the Procurator Fiscal.”

However, if there are “suspicious circumstances”, the procurator fiscal might need to retain tissue for further investigation.

The committee has also received a submission from the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities on the petition, which is summarised in members’ papers.

Do members have any comments or observations?

The next item is consideration of continued petitions. The first continued petition is PE1853, which has been lodged by Councillor Donald Kelly and Councillor Douglas Philand and calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to provide a lifeline all-year-round freight and passenger ferry service between Campbeltown and Ardrossan.

We last considered this petition at our meeting on 1 September, when we agreed to write to the Scottish Government. In the Scottish Government’s initial submission to us, we were told that it was not operationally possible to extend the current operating period of the Ardrossan to Campbeltown service as there were no available vessels. It was noted that the Scottish Government has committed to securing two new ferries, which are currently under construction. Subject to a robust business case and funding, it might be possible to use one of the new vessels to provide a year-round Campbeltown service. The MV Sannox is due to be delivered between July and September of next year.

The petitioners themselves had also explored whether it would be possible to use an available vessel that was not currently part of the Caledonian MacBrayne fleet to provide the service. In its most recent submission to the committee, the Scottish Government suggested that suitable second-hand vessels were rare but that the recent purchase of—and I hope that I say this correctly—the MV Utne indicated a willingness on its part to consider this as an option. The Scottish Government also highlights the creation of the islands connectivity plan, which will be prepared as the successor to the 2013 to 2022 ferries plan.

The Government also states that determining the long-term future ferry requirements for Campbeltown will involve a community needs assessment, which will be carried out with communities and other stakeholders throughout 2022 for all Clyde and Hebrides ferry services and northern isles routes as part of the islands connectivity plan. It is expected that the plan will be published by the end of 2022.

Bearing in mind the subsequent submission from the Scottish Government, do members have any comments or suggestions?

PE1856, which has been lodged by Pat Rafferty on behalf of Unite the union, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to protect the future of the taxi trade by providing financial support to taxi drivers; setting up a national stakeholder group with trade union driver representatives; and reviewing low-emission standards and implementation dates.

When we last considered the petition on 1 September, we agreed to write to the Scottish Government to raise concerns highlighted by the petitioner and to highlight his suggestions that funding be extended and incentive levels increased for drivers to upgrade their cabs; that there be greater clarity on exemptions to the low-emission zones and for taxi cabs to be considered exempt from LEZ charges in line with other forms of public transport; and that the Energy Savings Trust should increase the current £10,000 grant for liquefied petroleum gas retrofit by £2,500. We also sought further details of the national stakeholder group and the timescales associated with establishing it.

In response to the committee’s most recent correspondence, the Scottish Government states that, in relation to increasing the grant offering to taxi drivers, funding and budget plans have already been set for the current fiscal year, and future funding rounds will be subject to the usual spending review process. The Scottish Government also provided further information about LEZ exemptions, noting that LEZ-compliant taxis are

“an important and valued part of the urban transport mix”

and stating that funding is available in the current fiscal year for operators wishing to take up the support on offer.

Finally, the committee might wish to note that the petitioner has been put in touch with the relevant officials at the Scottish Government to discuss engagement between Transport Scotland and the taxi sector.

In light of the Scottish Government’s most recent submission and further contact from the petitioner, do members have any comments or suggestions for action?

I think that I am right in saying that taxi drivers operate under licences from local authorities, so we could write to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities for an audit of the number of licence holders prior to the pandemic and the current number. That would indicate the strength of licence holders on the ground, which I think would be helpful.

I take Paul Sweeney’s point, so I think that we will take evidence on this matter. It would be quite nice to get some geographical representation; I do not know whether the taxi associations will be able to give us a steer on this matter, but it would be useful to hear from the wider country. I realise that we cannot hear from every local authority, as that would make things quite busy. We will write to people in the first instance, but I think that we will end up taking evidence directly.

Marie, did you hope to come in as well?