Seòmar agus comataidhean

That has been very helpful. I thank you for your persistence in pursuing the petition.

We will see HIAL on 18 May, so we will be able to pursue some of your specific questions with the organisation then. I thank you for your time this morning, Mr Henderson.

Yes. Some of the complexities that the Royal College of Pathologists details seem to be issues that will have been faced and addressed elsewhere.

My final question sits on the back of evidence that we have received. What evidence do you have that the Civil Aviation Authority would authorise anything that was unsafe?

It is plain from the subsequent submissions that you have made that concerns were expressed. What was HIAL’s response to and management of those concerns like?

How should HIAL have approached the development of the project in the first place?

Implicit in that suggestion is that we are at a point when, in other circumstances, we would hear from the petitioner.

I invite our two parliamentary colleagues who have joined us and have been with us at various stages during our consideration of the petition over an extended period to ask you anything.

Does Prospect retain confidence in HIAL and its existing board?

PE1862, which was lodged by Rona MacKay, Angus Campbell and Naomi Bremner on behalf of Uist economic task force, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to introduce community representation on the boards of public organisations delivering lifeline services to island communities, in keeping with the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018.

When we considered the petition on 2 February, we agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands. I am pleased to say that, since that meeting, we have received a response from the Minister for Transport that outlines the process for agreeing who should sit on the selection panel for each public body recruitment exercise. The minister notes that the current process involves a selection panel making recommendations to the minister on all aspects of the recruitment exercise, including what the key criteria for each vacant position should be. The minister therefore indicates that she does not believe that legislative change is required.

Do members have any suggestions? Would we like to hear from the minister and the petitioners to see whether that resolves the issue, or are we satisfied with the minister’s response?

Is that agreed?

Members indicated agreement.