In the past, we have tended to maintain the life of petitions by requesting further information or views from the Executive, sometimes frequently. Of course, that procedure can get information from the Executive, but it is not always particularly helpful and it can lead to an unnecessary lengthening of the time that is taken to deal with petitions, which is not good news for the committee, the petitioners or the Parliament.The current batch of petitions before the committee consists of petitions that have been under consideration for an extended period.