Seòmar agus comataidhean

I welcome everyone back. For confirmation, are members content to consider the evidence that we heard on the previous petition at a future meeting?

Members indicated agreement.

If any petitioners other than Gordon Baird want to comment on that, they should let me know.

I invite Maria Aitken to make a brief final comment.

Thank you for that. I also thank you and Liam McArthur for your additional forensic cross-examination of witnesses as we have progressed through the process. Although we might not all be here in five years, I hope that some of us will be—David Torrance has been here for ever—to see whether there has been any progress or any reversal of the commitments given.

I just want to cut in here. I think that in response to all our questions, your solution is going to be the reinstatement of that entity, which perhaps does not develop our discussion in a way that might be helpful.

Rebecca Wymer, do you want to respond to the question that David Torrance put?

Having listened to Rhoda Grant, I think that there are fresh issues, but I think that those might be best addressed as the subject of a fresh petition, because I think—looking at the actual terms of the petition—that we have met the objective of the petition.

Excellent. Thank you very much.

The next continued petition is PE1804, on which we have taken evidence on a couple of occasions. The petition calls on the Scottish Government to halt Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd’s air traffic management strategy project. On 4 May, we took evidence from Peter Henderson, one of the petitioners, and David Avery from Prospect. We subsequently took evidence from Inglis Lyon, the managing director of HIAL.

Rhoda Grant is still with us, and I invite her to speak before we consider how we might proceed.

Thank you, minister. I have one further follow-up question.

We have discussed the nuances in relation to hernia mesh. At times, it seems that the issue has been the need for a proper explanation of options to patients. That is one of the aspects that Professor Alison Britton is looking at in her casework review with regard to the way in which women progressing through the transvaginal hernia mesh issue have been treated. Her inquiry has been going on for some time; a month or so ago, I asked a question about it in Parliament. I wonder whether you are able to offer any update on where we are with the review, as some of what Professor Britton may report might be of interest with regard to the need for patients to be properly notified and made aware of the options that are available to them.

Minister, to go back to the Cumberlege report, I note that this committee was alert to the shortcomings surrounding the MRHA regimen, and I think that all parties in this Parliament endorsed the report’s recommendations. Did I understand you to say that you believe that the discussions that are taking place in relation to the report are constructive and are progressing to a positive outcome?