Chamber and committees

For me, it was worth while receiving this petition, purely on the basis that I thought that that was already a crime, so we learn something every day here. I very much consider that we should write to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and to Police Scotland, which have to deal with many of those circumstances, to seek their views on the issues that the petition raises.

This is an issue that I did not know about—and that most people probably do not know about. For those who suffer such an event without a proper way of redressing that, it must be quite worrying and, in some instances, even terrifying.

I imagine that both moles and hedgehogs live under the ground at certain times. That is particularly relevant when it comes to large-scale construction, and given the 26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP26—and care for the environment. The petition may therefore be of the moment.

It is a sad thing that we have to discuss such issues but it is good that the petition has been lodged. It is of such importance that we should take it forward, possibly by writing to key stakeholders such as the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Law Society of Scotland, the Scottish Law Commission, the Scottish Sentencing Council—after hearing about the sentence that was handed down in that instance—Scottish Women’s Aid and Victim Support Scotland. Those organisations all have something beneficial to put forward on the action that the petition calls for. If we seek their views, we would be performing a necessary duty.

That is a reasonable approach, as the committee has probably taken the matter as far as it possibly can. I note that the Scottish Parliament has cross-party groups on building bridges with Israel and on the situation in Palestine, and that shows that the Parliament is not ignoring this important issue or simply throwing it away.

I do not think that it is for us to chase this matter, but I would like the MSPs on both cross-party groups to come together at some point and speak to each other in a rational manner. That might actually help with developing a better approach in Scotland. Of course, I do not know whether we can influence such a move.

That is a perfectly reasonable way to move forward on an issue that, with the 26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP26—coming up in Glasgow this year, Scotland should be at the forefront of with regard to thinking about future developments. I am perfectly happy with the suggestion that has been made.

Is there any plan to ensure that everyone who has had a mesh procedure over a period of time to be decided is contacted to ask them about their experience since they had the treatment? I know that there are people who have been uncertain about how they can complain, who they can complain to, and whether they are wasting people’s time. However, they are in discomfort, and having that material inside them is affecting their lives.

That is very important. I recently spoke to a man who had an abdominal hernia repair that involved mesh and who has suffered great pain and almost disability as a result. The issue has not been covered widely in the media, but there are men who do not know what to do next. They do not know who to complain to and whether they should just go back to their GP or somewhere else. There are people who have problems but who do not know what to do about them. I wonder whether everyone who has had the procedure could be contacted, because issues might then be raised that are being ignored at the moment.

You have already addressed some of the issues that I am about to ask about, but it might not do any harm to take them from a slightly different angle. Submissions that we have received link the issue that we are discussing to a misunderstanding at service level about where individuals should be directed for appropriate autism support. Does the Scottish Government plan to review the legislation in respect of autistic people so that it is no longer assumed that they have either a mental disorder or a learning disability? If so, is there any timescale for such a review?

I think that that is perfectly logical, although I note that the Scottish Government has stated in its response:

“The Scottish Government publishes each year a statistical bulletin known as Criminal Proceedings in Scotland. The bulletin presents statistics on criminal proceedings concluded in Scottish courts, including a breakdown by sex of convicted persons by crime type.”

Therefore, given that the Scottish Government has already given us that information, I think that it would be better to contact the organisations that David Torrance identified before we approach the Scottish Government again with those results.

Without going into a rant, convener, I have to say that my follow-up question was taken away from me there.