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I will come to the witnesses in a minute, because I want to explore this area, too.

What sort of reception have you had from Glasgow City Council with regard to exploring your arguments? The comprehensive if technical arguments that you have been making about the availability of vehicles relate to specification as well as the structure of the financial support for the alternatives that you think would be best. I say that as someone who spent 25 years in the Scottish retail motor industry and who found from time to time that, with regard to technical specifications—this was a real issue—the associated difficulties and practicalities were not always understood by policy makers, who were keen to drive towards a particular objective. Like Mr Sweeney, I am interested in knowing with whom the discussions are taking place and how you feel the arguments are being received.

Mr Grant, you might want to touch on that and the previous question.

PE1948, which was also lodged by Alex O’Kane, is on improving the way in which unexplained deaths are dealt with. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to encourage Police Scotland to review its practices for dealing with unexplained deaths, from initial recovery through to the support that is offered to family members.

Alex O’Kane stresses that, when a body is discovered with no clear cause of death, there is a vital window of time when decisions are made and evidence can be secured or lost. He says that, because an unexplained death is not considered to be a crime, the same level of resources are not invested to support the person’s family, and victim support is not involved. He also stresses the need for good and supportive police communication with families in such situations.

The Scottish Government’s submission sets out the process that is followed by both Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service when managing unexplained, reportable deaths. Police officers are expected to undertake a range of actions during an initial assessment to determine the response. If at any stage circumstances indicate a “police reportable death”, the assessment must be halted and officers must notify supervisors and the criminal investigation department.

In dealing with unexplained deaths, one of the key principles highlighted by the Scottish Government is that the deceased and any family or friends are treated with respect, dignity and compassion. Guidance states that consideration should also be given to the appointment of a family liaison officer for bereaved relatives.

Do members have any comments or suggestions?

Is the committee content with that?

Members indicated agreement.

That was very comprehensive, and you have touched on a number of issues that we want to explore. Mr Fleming, would you like to add anything further to Mr McLean’s comments?

I thank you all, gentlemen. The committee very much appreciates the evidence that you have given, and it has certainly justified our decision to have this round-table discussion this morning. There are a number of issues that we will wish to pursue, and we look forward to your further assistance in that respect.

I suspend the meeting for a few moments.

Are members content with those suggestions? Should we write to any other organisations?

Mr Grant, I understand that you would like to add something.

Do you want to say more, Mr Sweeney? We can then move on to Mr Torrance.

Mr McLean and Mr Fleming, could you be brief?

Thank you for that.

The petition is an important one, and we have considered it in some detail. The Scottish Government has confirmed that it will include stakeholders in the review, and I propose that we keep the petition open at the current time.

I wonder whether colleagues would be happy for us to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government to request information and more detail on the timescales, including the dates for completion of each stage of the review; to ask how the Government intends to report on stage 1 of the review so that we have an understanding of the thinking; and to ask how the Government intends to engage with the Scottish Parliament throughout the period of the review and on the proposals and recommendations for action.

Are there any other proposals from the committee? Are we content to proceed on that basis?