Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
11th Meeting, 2023
The Committee considered the following continued petitions:
PE1812: Protect Scotland's remaining ancient, native and semi-native woodlands and woodland floors. The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government.
PE1926: Expand universal free school meals for all nursery, primary and secondary school pupils. The Committee agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and COSLA.
PE1937: To give children the respect they deserve by providing options for privacy when changing for P.E. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.
PE1947: Address Scotland's culture of youth violence. The Committee agreed to invite researchers, Police Scotland, the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit and No Knives, Better Lives to give evidence at a future meeting. It also agreed to delegate the final arrangements for this to the Convener.
PE1956: Increase the provision of wheelchair accessible homes. The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government and organisations involved in the Dying in the Margins exhibition.
PE1964: Create an independent review of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Independent Advocacy Agency, Citizens Advice Scotland, Patient Advice and Support Service Scotland and Shelter Scotland.
PE1978: Allow raw milk to be sold in Scotland. The Committee agreed not to invite a member of the public who had requested to make a submission to do so. The Committee then agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.
PE1983: Improve the transparency and accountability of Scottish legal courts. The committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.
PE1992: Dual the A9 and improve road safety. The Committee agreed to invite the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition to give evidence to the Committee at the earliest possible opportunity after she or the Minister for Transport has made a statement to the Parliament on the revised timetable for dualling the A9. The Committee also agreed to write to Road Safety Scotland, IAM Roadsmart, RAC Foundation, the Road Safety Foundation and the road safety charity, Brake. The Committee also agreed to gather views, particularly from local residents and businesses, on issues relating to methods for dualling the A9, road safety measures and the proposal for a national memorial. It also agreed to delegate the final arrangements for this exercise to the Convener.
PE1994: Review the trial process for sexual offence cases. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.
The Committee considered the following new petitions:
PE2017: Extend the period that specialist perinatal mental health support is made available beyond one year. The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government.
PE2019: Withdraw rates relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme from Holiday Let Accommodation. The Committee agreed to write to Scottish Assessors, the Holiday Home Association, the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers and the Scottish Government.
PE2020: Provide fertility treatment to single women. The Committee agreed to write to the Fertility Network Scotland, the British Fertility Society, Fertility Scotland and the National Fertility Group.
PE2021: Ensure the definition of protected animals in the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 applies to the sheep on St Kilda. The Committee agreed to write to the National Trust for Scotland, the St Kilda Soay Sheep Research Project, NatureScot and OneKind.
PE2022: Introduce national safeguarding guidance on how higher education institutions should handle cases of sexual misconduct. The Committee agreed to write to Emily Test, Victim Support Scotland, Universities Scotland, Scottish Women’s Aid, Rape Crisis Scotland, NUS Scotland and the Glasgow Univeristy Students Representative Council.