Chamber and committees

You will get one final blast when the moment comes, but I see that Fergus Ewing has put his hand up again. Fergus, do you have a quick question before we come to the final moments of this evidence session?

Are we content to proceed on that basis and to write to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, as Mr Torrance has suggested?

Members indicated agreement.

Even though the Scottish Government has said that it has absolutely no intention of doing anything about the matter, are colleagues nonetheless content to seek the views of those organisations?

Members indicated agreement.

Our final petition is PE2146, lodged by Jamie Connelly, which calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to allow couples and individuals to purchase altruistically donated eggs from private clinics for use in NHS-funded IVF treatment, and to instruct NHS Scotland to create a clear clinical pathway to support those using private donor eggs.

The SPICe briefing explains that large NHS-hosted clinics provide both private and NHS fertility treatment, for which there are separate waiting lists. Those in receipt of NHS treatment are fully funded by the NHS, while those who do not meet the criteria for NHS treatment can be offered private, fully self-funded treatment. That self-funded treatment is mostly provided by the NHS service at cost. However, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is slightly different in that it partners with the only private clinic in Scotland in providing paid-for care. That private clinic is not for profit and partners with an egg donation supplier in Spain. The briefing notes that many of the private clinics in the UK will source donor eggs from suppliers abroad. However, there are risks associated with sourcing eggs abroad and with their transportation.

The petitioner and his partner were told that the likelihood of getting donor eggs through the NHS would be “miniscule” as the waiting time is potentially more than 30 years. He reports that the NHS in Scotland operates on an all-or-nothing policy, which means that, if patients source eggs from elsewhere, they will lose all NHS funding for IVF. My goodness—with a wait of 30 years, you would have to register at birth for it to be of any use to you at all.

In its response to the petition, the Scottish Government states that it has always been clear that couples who are eligible for NHS fertility treatment should not pay for any aspect of their treatment, and this includes the purchase and use of donor gametes. It also states that couples who require an altruistic egg donor may wait between three to four years for treatment. This wait time can change depending on donor availability and we are aware that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is planning several campaigns this year to recruit egg and sperm donors, which will hopefully reduce the waiting times.

Do members have any comments or suggestions for action???

Thank you all very much.

David, I was just about to give you the opportunity to tell me whether you want to come in with some final questions before I ask whether there is anything that we have not covered.

The next petition is PE1967, lodged by John Urquhart on behalf of Helensburgh and District Access Trust and the Friends of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, seeks to protect Loch Lomond’s Atlantic oakwood shoreline by implementing the high road option for the A82 upgrade between Tarbet and Inverarnan. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to reconsider the process for selecting the preferred option for the planned upgrade for the route and to replace the design manual for roads and bridges-based assessment with the more comprehensive Scottish transport appraisal guidance.

At our previous meeting, the cabinet secretary referred to improvements that are already benefiting road users and communities along the A82, such as the new viaduct at Pulpit Rock and the bypass at Crianlarich. We also heard that concerns similar to those that the petition puts forward were previously raised with Audit Scotland, which had investigated the issue and confirmed to Transport Scotland that it had considered the requirements contained in the STAG guidance and reviewed relevant evidence, and had concluded that the STAG process had been applied in the initial stages of the work on the A82.

The cabinet secretary was also candid in saying that, because of the interaction between the A83 and A82, it would not be appropriate to work on both roads at the same time, and that as a result of safety issues and economic importance, the A83 would be prioritised.

We explored the process for considering the various options proposed, including at what point in the process the STAG appraisal or DMRB guidance is applied. Officials also indicated that dialogue is continuing with the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority on the detail and make-up of the preferred route option.

The cabinet secretary also told us that consideration is being given to the feasibility of combining with adjacent schemes to make sure that the tree line and other environmental aspects are considered. She emphasised that there is still time left in the process to address issues relating to landscaping and the interaction with Loch Lomond’s natural environment.

In light of that, do colleagues have any suggestions for how we might proceed?

That draws to a conclusion our consideration of that important petition during the lifetime of this session of Parliament.

PE1916, lodged by Councillor Douglas Philand and Councillor Donald Kelly, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to instigate a public inquiry regarding the political and financial management of the A83 Rest and Be Thankful project, which aims to provide a permanent solution for the route. Again, that was part of our session with the cabinet secretary on 2 April, when we heard that capital funding will be made available when it is needed to progress various stages of the A83 project, and that the estimated cost for the permanent long-term solution is between £408 million and £510 million. The cabinet secretary also told us that the process for commenting on draft orders for the medium and long-term solutions ended in February.

Transport Scotland officials talked about the civil engineering challenges of the project and suggested that the procurement stage could take 12 to 18 months, followed by three to four years for the construction period. That indicative timeline, of course, depends on factors such as whether a public inquiry on the draft orders is required, and weather conditions during the construction period—members will be aware of the particular risk of landslips on the route.

Do colleagues have any suggestions for action??

Thank you all very much. We very much appreciate your participation. It has been a fascinating morning for us. We have been able to give the issue the attention that it deserves and have heard from two panels of very high-quality witnesses.

I suspend the meeting briefly before we proceed with the next agenda item.