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I share the sentiments that have been expressed. The petition highlights an area where Covid economic resilience measures were put in place very rapidly. Because of the pace at which things had to move, the measures were somewhat blunt in their design and, as a result, key parts of the industry that were affected fell through the cracks. The petition provides a good example of an area where we need to respond clearly with countermeasures.

We will all want to avoid the pandemic causing economic scarring and permanent financial distress, so I think that a retrospective scheme of assistance for people who have been dealing with financial detriment over a long period of time—the past year—would be a worthwhile endeavour. I therefore recommend that we contact industry representatives to gather more evidence on and their responses to the petition, and that we see whether we can collaborate with the Scottish Government and the economic development agencies, such as Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland, on designing a scheme to assist people who have obviously suffered significant detriment and are continuing to face severe financial hardship.

I concur that it would be great to have Callum before the committee to give evidence. It is commendable that he is so passionate about the issue at such a young age.

The petition campaigns for an incredibly practical measure. Yesterday, I was speaking with children at Thorntree primary school in Glasgow with my colleague Ivan McKee. The members of their eco-schools committee raised similar concerns around how they could take practical steps in their school to reduce their carbon footprint and improve environmental efficiency. The petition touches on a very live issue and on concerns that are shared by lots of young people across Scotland.

Callum is perhaps a bit of a pioneer, because his petition shows that the petitions committee should be accessible to everyone, including those of a young age. If young people are learning about politics and discussing issues at school, the petitions committee is potentially a useful way for them to engage with Parliament. In more ways than one, Callum has done us all a great service. I would be really happy to invite him to speak to the committee about what we can consider doing to amplify the issue.

I think that the petitioner’s intent is sound, especially given the tragic incidents that occurred over the summer. A significant number of deaths could have been prevented if people had had proper education in swimming. We underestimate the impact that swimming lessons have as a life-saving measure. The need to learn to swim is often framed in the context of sport or physical education, rather than being highlighted as a critical life-saving measure.

I note that the SPICe paper indicates that the Scottish Government does not hold data on how many schools provide swimming lessons as part of the curriculum on a voluntary basis or as an integrated part of the physical education curriculum. I would be interested in the committee gathering from local authorities information on their provision in that regard, which we could use as a basis for considering what further action to take, if colleagues are minded to agree with that suggestion.

Following on from those points, I noted that the petitioner highlighted the work of surgeons at the Shouldice hospital, who are pioneering alternative treatments in natural tissue repair. There have been interesting outcomes from that technique and the study of the technique. What is your view of it? What are we doing to train surgeons in Scotland in it? Are we developing a critical mass of knowledge, so that we can use it as an alternative means of treatment?

I am conscious of the significant inertia in the medical profession in relation to the use of mesh. The technique is long established and has been normalised in Scotland, so trying to move away from it is bound to meet with some resistance. Are there better ways to embed and build up alternative, pioneering techniques?

I think so. I just note that it is interesting that the onus seems to be on the patient to demand an alternative. That goes back to the issue about the power imbalance when it comes to knowledge and the need for people to be quite robust in their challenges. I wonder whether that is a potential concern.

I thank the minister for helpfully outlining the Government’s intentions. One thing that I noted in the petition and the background reading was the reference to the independent review, which reported to ministers in December 2019. A key finding of that review was that the current legislation was indirectly discriminatory towards autistic people. I welcome the fact that new legislation is in the pipeline, but in the meantime it is important that we consider what actions you as minister might take to protect the human rights of autistic people until that new legislation can kick in, given that that will obviously take quite some time.

I agree that an evidence-led approach is critical, and I concur with colleagues that the routes of research that have been identified and proposed are appropriate, and I support our taking those actions.

I found this petition quite interesting, as it sets out an interesting interface. Although the Scottish Government’s prima facie case is that the matter is reserved, we know of cases in the past—for example, the development of atomic power stations in Scotland—where planning powers have effectively been used to direct or influence policy decisions. An element of leverage could be deployed here, and we could look at opportunities to create greater incentives for community ownership.

I therefore think that the petition is worth further exploration and evidence gathering. The Scottish land fund and other stakeholders that operate in this field might have some interesting and innovative suggestions about how policy could be developed, particularly with regard to potential changes to planning legislation in Scotland, which is a devolved matter and could lead to the introduction of incentives that are indirect but would be nonetheless effective. As I have said, the matter is worth further exploration.

Yes, convener. I am pleased to hear about the minister’s ethos of continuous improvement, but one of the themes that has recurred in this morning’s evidence-taking is the power imbalance that service users often experience. Could there be a mechanism for people to report any good practice or exceptional activity that they have experienced? Such practice could, in turn, be fed in to the system so that it can be learned from and then introduced across the board. In short, service users could help inform this sort of thing. Perhaps it happens already, but given what we have been discussing, allowing service users to illustrate where good things are happening might be helpful as a pointer in setting standards of excellence and could be considered ahead of the new legislation being introduced.

I wonder whether it would be worth our seeking an opinion from the Lord Advocate on the matter.