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I think that that would be very sensible. The experience of the committee with regard to petitions that we have considered before has sometimes been that the veneer of a possible recourse, on examination by the committee to evidence the substance of it, has fallen short of what might have been hoped for or experienced. Interrogating the actual practice, experience, numbers and resolution of the existing complaints process would be a sensible thing for us to try to establish.

I am happy to agree to that.

I thank the petitioner for bringing the petition to the committee. We take the petition very seriously, and we will write to various organisations ahead of sponsoring a round-table discussion in the Parliament in which we can explore the issues in detail. We can then write to the Scottish Government with a summary of our thinking and any conclusions that we have reached. Do members agree to that approach?

Members indicated agreement.

In advance of that, we could write to various organisations to seek their views in order to help to inform the discussion that will take place. We can write to CELCIS and the Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum to get their contributions. Do members want to wait until we have had that conversation before we write to the Scottish Government?

PE1960, calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to formally recognise private hire cars and taxis as modes of public transport and to enshrine such recognition in law, is lodged by Edward Grice on behalf of the Scottish Private Hire Association

The SPHA tells us that private hire cars and taxis provide a valuable service and play an important role in local transport. The SPHA goes on to tell us that, despite that, they are often overlooked by planners and policymakers in comparison with other modes of transport, which has led to their being excluded from public transport stakeholder groups and has prevented meaningful engagement on decisions affecting the services they provide.

In responding to the petition, the Scottish Government highlights that there is no legal definition of public transport and that each transport mode is subject to specific legislation. In the Government’s view, that means there is no obvious legislation that could be amended to enshrine the definition in law and to set out the relationship between the different transport sectors and local and national Government.

However, the Government states that it considers the provision of taxis to be a vital part of the transport system and that it will continue to engage with industry representatives on matters such as low-emission zones and licensing.

We heard from taxi owners during a previous evidence session, and this idea flitted in and out of the conversation. Do members have any suggestions as to how we might proceed?

I am happy to support that. Are colleagues willing to support those suggestions?

Controversies aplenty are being revealed this morning, Mr Ewing.

Item 2 is consideration of continued petitions, the first of which is PE1900, on access to prescribed medication for detainees in police custody, which was lodged by Kevin John Lawson. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to ensure that all detainees in police custody can access their prescribed medication, including methadone, in line with existing relevant operational procedures and guidance.

Colleagues will recall that, at our most recent meeting, we took evidence from David Strang, former chair of the Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce—I gather that he is now part of the implementation group—and Dr Carole Hunter, who is a former member of the task force. Our discussion with them has informed some of the areas that we would like to explore during this morning’s meeting.

I am delighted to say that we are joined this morning by the Minister for Drugs Policy, Angela Constance, and her officials from the drugs policy division of the Scottish Government: Morris Fraser, head of delivery and support unit, and Henry Acres, head of cultural and structural change.

Good morning, and thank you all for coming; you are most welcome. We can move straight to questions, but if you would like to say something by way of introduction or clarification, minister, we would be happy to hear it.

Our second evidence session is on PE1928, which was lodged by David Gallant. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to provide free rail travel for disabled people who meet the qualifications for free bus travel.

We last considered the petition at our meeting on 20 April 2022, when we agreed to write to Transport Scotland to seek an update on the fair fares review. A copy of Transport Scotland’s response has been included in our meeting papers for today.

At the meeting on 20 April, we also agreed to hear evidence from the petitioner and from Sight Scotland. I am pleased to welcome to the meeting the petitioner, David Gallant, and Nicoletta Primo from Sight Scotland. It is a pleasure to have both of you with us. The petitioner is not always present when we consider their petition. It is helpful that both of you are here today.

Members have a number of questions that they would like to ask, but we understand that both of you wish to say a few words first. I am happy with that. The clerks will have told you that your contribution cannot be longer than a speech in the chamber. We look forward to hearing from you. Have you drawn straws to see who will speak first? I see that David Gallant will do so.

Okay. Is that all that you wished to say to us in advance?

The information that we have about companion travel is that some authorities, such as Fife Council and West Lothian Council, and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport offer a 50 per cent reduction for companion travel. Are you aware of any evidence that that has made any difference to the incidence of companion travel in those local areas?