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Agenda item 3 is consideration of two new petitions. As I always do, I say to anybody who might be tuning in because they know that their petition is being considered for the first time that, in advance of the consideration, we invite the Scottish Parliament’s independent research body, the Scottish Parliament information centre, to provide the committee with a briefing on the issues raised. We also seek a preliminary view from the Scottish Government on the issues raised. We do both those things in order to expedite the progress of our consideration of the petition.

Mr Torrance has produced a list of suggestions as to what we might do. Are colleagues content to proceed on that basis?

Members indicated agreement.

That brings to an end the public consideration of our business this morning. We look forward to seeing those of you who are avid followers of our detailed consideration of public petitions on 22 January 2025.

Mr Torrance, you have taken us by surprise with that list of recommendations.

We will keep the petition open and progress on that basis.

So you and I are the only two who are left from that time. If you are happy to support it, I am quite happy to propose that, in the first instance, we write to the Minister for Victims and Community Safety to ask what actions the Scottish Government will take following the summit on youth violence in January 2025; to seek an update on the development of a collaborative plan for harm reduction and violence prevention; and to ask how victims are made aware of the “Standards of Service for Victims and Witnesses” document when reporting a crime.

More particularly, having taken evidence, gone on site visits and heard from a number of people, we are at the point at which it is time to invite the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, the Minister for Victims and Community Safety and the Lord Advocate to give evidence. From experience, I know that, if we take one or the other, one will say that it is the other’s responsibility. Having them all here might facilitate the discussion. Anyway, we will ask them to come and give evidence on this and other petitions relating to serious crime committed by young people, although I think that we will want to get the update first, to inform that discussion.

PE2051, which was lodged by Dianne Youngson, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to establish a consistent and transparent reporting mechanism for incidents affecting the health of pupils in schools; review and improve on the existing guidelines for schools in dealing with at-risk pupils; place in law monitoring of reporting mechanisms, with ultimate responsibility being placed with Scottish ministers and local authorities; and reform the exclusions procedure to include consideration of whether exclusions may cause further harm.

We last considered the petition on 21 February and agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills. We were keen to receive a timeline for the development and publication of the joint action plan on relationships and behaviour in schools, and information about how the Scottish Government expects its call for accurate recording of incidents in schools to be achieved.

The joint action plan on relationships and behaviour in schools has now been published and covers the period from 2024 until 2027. The cabinet secretary highlighted the Government’s review of the national anti-bullying guidance. She noted in particular that a sub-group was established to identify and consider changes to the supplementary guidance on recording and monitoring.

The submission notes that Education Scotland plans to publish a toolkit of good practice on recording and responding to bullying incidents.

In the light of the cabinet secretary’s response following the publication of the plan for 2024 to 2027, do colleagues have any suggestions for action?

Are we agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

The last of our new petitions, PE2118, lodged by Tobias Christie on behalf of the Speymouth Environmental Partnership, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to review the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 and improve flood alleviation and management processes by appointing an independent panel of engineers, economists and geomorphologists to support the design of flood risk management plans.

Douglas Ross MSP had hoped to be able to join us for our consideration of the petition, but he is unfortunately detained in another committee.

In the background to the petition, concerns are raised that those responsible for designing the flood risk management systems are often distant from and unaffected by the risks and that the system is designed around flood warnings rather than flood prevention, management or alleviation. Responding to the petition, the Scottish Government tells us that it has implemented a comprehensive framework under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009, which places flood risk management at the core of its environmental policies.

The response also refers to a joint Scottish Government and Convention of Scottish Local Authorities flood risk management working group, which is considering funding and governance arrangements for flood protection schemes. The Scottish Government is also developing the country’s first flood risk strategy, which it says is focused on enhancing community flood resilience by integrating people, places and processes. It also notes that it is the responsibility of local authorities to develop specific actions to address flood risk and improve resilience.

We have also received a submission from the petitioners, which highlights the point that local communities are not aware of the public consultations on flooding and that, when SEPA has issued questionnaires, the questions appear to have been designed to reinforce its perspective—that brings us back to the arguments that we had on consultations at the beginning of the meeting. The petitioners also raised concerns about the processes that SEPA uses to model future flooding and the challenges that communities face in trying to share views and ideas for flood management with SEPA and relevant local authorities.

Do members have any suggestions on how we might proceed?

Essentially, you are arguing that this is as far as we can take the petition, given the Scottish Government’s position. Do colleagues have any other comments? It is an important area but, given the Scottish Government’s response, it is difficult to see what more we can actually do to take the issue forward. On that basis, are colleagues content, however reluctantly, to close the petition?