Chamber and committees

I, too, thank Monica Lennon for her presentation; she made some very valid points on the petitioner’s behalf about the way forward.

Convener, you have identified that advertising is one of the biggest issues. There is a need to find out what action is being taken. These days, when someone purchases a ticket, nine times out of 10 it is not from an individual but through a machine. The machine tells them what the price of the ticket is, so they are not necessarily able to understand what options are available. They hit the button and it tells them what they can have. That process may not give them the cheapest or best-value ticket. Some of that needs to be looked at.

We have talked about technology and ensuring that developments can be made, but there is room for improvement as to how that can be managed on the ground.

You have already alluded to the fact that potential gaps still exist around the MAT standards. Is anything still needed to ensure that the standards are fully implemented and working as intended?

Did the Scottish Government consult with the Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce on the evidence gap that was identified regarding prescription medication being made available to individuals who are in custody? If so, what progress has been made on that?

I concur. As you have identified, the petition has been quite a harrowing one for the individuals involved. Without question, a gap seems to have arisen, and it would be appropriate for us to recommend that we have a specific statutory offence to alleviate some of the problems that have been identified.

Fergus Ewing is correct when he talks about the difficulties that individuals have suffered in going through this process. The difficulties have been exacerbated and aggravated by circumstances and situations in the agencies that are there to provide support. There needs to be some clarity there. Going down this route might give us the opportunity to ensure that some of the problems are ironed out and that individuals who go through the process do not suffer the same consequences that others have.

I thank the witnesses for their evidence so far. You have touched on underreporting and said that the victim is the most important person. When Nicola Murray gave evidence, she spoke about the difficulties in reporting in relation to the co-operation that is required between the police and the individual who has been abused. She also talked about the knock-on effects. We know that Police Scotland has looked at domestic abuse and views tackling it as a priority, but she explained that more training and more support are required. She felt that the police were not able to deal with coercive behaviour as well as they should. When someone who has been abused tries to progress their case, they have to go to the first authority—the police—before there are court proceedings, and she, as a victim, identified a gap in that regard. As I said, Police Scotland has a role in managing such situations and supporting victims. As Mr Tidy knows, the victim is the most important person—we acknowledge that—but that might not always be the case when it comes to how they are managed and processed by the authorities that are there to protect and support them. It would be useful to hear the witnesses’ views on that.

You have summarised where we are with the petition, which as you have said has been going for some time now. However, in light of the petitioners’ concerns, we should write to the Scottish Government and seek information on what impact the capital spending review will have on the funding of the A83 Rest and Be Thankful project and whether the slowdown in funding for the road improvement project is likely to have an impact on the seven to 10-year timescale for the solution for the route to be put in place.

The community still wants a public inquiry to investigate the financial management of the project and to seek a permanent solution for the route, but that is a bigger issue for us to deal with at this stage.

Those are my recommendations, but I am open to other members’ views on the topic.

We should write to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to seek an update on the development of the next BSL plan and explore how BSL national qualifications could be developed. In writing to the cabinet secretary, the committee might wish to highlight the development of general certificates of secondary education in BSL in other parts of the United Kingdom; ask what steps the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that schools have the opportunity to teach BSL from primary 1 to higher and advanced higher levels; and seek information on what further considerations the Scottish Government has given to affording BSL qualifications that are equivalent with other spoken languages as part of the uptake of BSL qualifications.

I am delighted that we have had such a robust outcome so far, but it is important that we now seek further information. We should write to the Minister for Transport to find out about the process for appointments to the board of David MacBrayne Group and what work is being done to encourage candidates from communities. We can also ask for an update on the communities’ communication with ministers and with Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd with regard to the proposals that the petition sets out.

I suggest that we write to stakeholders, seeking their views on the actions asked for in the petition. The committee could write to the Brain Charity, Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, PoTS UK, Professor Alan Carson and NHS National Services Scotland. We could also write to the petitioner, alerting them to the funding schemes that are available through the chief scientist office.

I suggest that we write to the Scottish Government to ask how it intends to engage with stakeholders in its delivery of the commitment to explore options for the development of an accredited qualification and registration programme for additional support needs assistants, and how the petitioner can engage with the pupil support staff working group.

We could also write to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, seeking a view on the issues that are raised in the petition and requesting information on the frequency and cost of equal pay claims that have been lodged in relation to education support staff roles. In addition, we could write to the Scottish Social Services Council, seeking a view on the issues that are raised in the petition and requesting information on the requirements for and processes of registration.