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PE1881, which is on the sentencing of paedophiles and sexual predators, has been lodged by Carol Burns. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to increase the length of time that sexual predators serve in jail.

In its submission, the Scottish Government explains that

“the maximum penalty for the most serious sex offences, including rape, sexual assault by penetration and sexual assault, is life imprisonment.”

The petitioner suggests a minimum sentence of four years in order to provide victims with some peace of mind.

The SPICe briefing notes that work is being done by the Scottish Sentencing Council to prepare

“sentencing guidelines in relation to rape, sexual assault, and indecent images of children.”

I am minded to write to the Scottish Sentencing Council to seek an update on the progress of its work in that regard, particularly in relation to guidelines on rape, sexual assault and indecent images of children. Given that that work is under way, it would be useful to receive an update on it.

Is that agreed?

The fact that the Scottish Government cannot take forward the aims of the petition because it is outwith legal competence is certainly significant. Are colleagues minded to support David Torrance’s suggestion?

Members indicated agreement.

Good morning and welcome to the fourth meeting in 2021 of the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee. Our principal agenda item today is the discussion of new petitions. I say to petitioners who might be tuning in and others who might be watching that, in advance of considering petitions, we receive submissions, including from the Scottish Government, which help to inform discussions such as those that we are about to have.

The first petition for consideration this morning is PE1869, which was lodged by Dillon Crawford. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to introduce legislation that would require all railway stations in Scotland to have step-free access.

The Scottish Government’s submission highlights work that has been undertaken by the United Kingdom and Scottish Governments to fund accessibility improvements and create step-free access at more than 30 stations across Scotland’s rail network. The submission stresses, however, that rail accessibility is a reserved matter, so it is not possible for the Scottish Parliament to legislate in this area, as requested by the petition.

It was interesting to receive notes in relation to work that is being done to establish step-free access at various stations and the other work that is being done to improve access in stations generally, but it seems that there is an obstacle as regards our considering a petition that seeks a legislative solution.

Do colleagues have any comments?

Do members agree to close the petition?

Members indicated agreement.

The petitioner has been made aware of the submissions in relation to the access improvements that have been undertaken.

The next new petition is PE1870, which was lodged by Edward Fowler. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to introduce legislation that would require teachers of autistic pupils to be appropriately qualified to improve educational outcomes.

In its submission, the Scottish Government states that the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, as amended,

“provides a comprehensive legislative framework for supporting children and young people to overcome barriers to their learning and achieve their full learning potential.”

The submission details a variety of work that is being done with the aim of enabling teachers to support autistic children, and it highlights the “Additional Support for Learning Action Plan”, which was published in October last year. Progress made against the action plan is expected to be monitored and reported on next month, in October 2021.

The Scottish Government’s submission also points to qualifications that teachers can obtain to demonstrate their ability to provide support for children with additional support needs, such as a postgraduate certificate or diploma in inclusive practice.

In his submission, the petitioner emphasises the impact of education on the experiences of autistic people later in life and states that many people are now seeking answers as to

“why they were failed by the education system of Scotland”.

Those people want to know what can be done to change the situation, and they want their voices to be heard.

The issue is one that has come before the Parliament in different guises over time. Would anybody like to comment on the petition?

The next new petition is PE1871, which was lodged by Karen McKeown on behalf of the shining lights for change group. We are joined for consideration of the petition by our parliamentary colleague Monica Lennon MSP—good morning and welcome, Monica. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to carry out a full review of mental health services in Scotland, which should include consideration of the referral process, crisis support, risk assessments, safe plans, how integrated services work together, first response support and the support that is available to families affected by suicide.

The Scottish Government’s submission details the work that is under way to improve the quality, access and variety of support that is provided for mental health. That includes tailored programmes to support national health service boards with long waiting lists, the establishment of 24/7 mental health assessment units and the distress brief intervention programme.

In response, the petitioner provided a very powerful submission—anybody who read it will have been naturally affected by it—in which she shared the story of her partner, Luke Henderson, who died in 2017, and their experience of seeking support from mental health services prior to his loss.

In response to deliverables against the suicide prevention action plan, the petitioner notes that the target to reduce the number of suicide deaths by 20 per cent by 2022 does not

“appear to be on track.”

I understand from advice that I have received that our predecessor committee considered a petition along these lines from the petitioner previously.

I invite Monica Lennon to speak in support of the petition to assist us in our consideration.

However, our options are limited. If the committee is agreed, that is the course of action that we will follow.

Thank you all very much for your contributions this morning. I thank our colleagues who joined us.

The next continued petition is PE1723, on essential tremor treatment in Scotland, which was lodged by Mary Ramsay. We are joined for consideration of the petition by Rhoda Grant MSP. The petition calls on the Scottish Government to raise awareness of essential tremor and to support the introduction and use of a focused ultrasound scanner to treat people in Scotland who have the condition.

The session 5 committee previously considered the petition at its meeting on 10 March 2021. At that meeting, the committee agreed to keep the petition open and to include it in its legacy paper for its session 6 successor committee colleagues—us—along with a suggestion to seek an update from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport on the Scottish Government’s plans to make an application to the national specialist services committee for a magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound—which is actually easier to say than MRgFUS—service. Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound is a relatively new treatment for essential tremor, which uses magnetic resonance imaging to guide powerful focused ultrasound to a small point in the body, causing an intense local heat that can destroy tissue.

The Scottish Government highlighted guidelines that were published in June 2018 by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which is commonly known as NICE, on the use of unilateral magnetic resonance imaging-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy for treatment-resistant essential tremor. It concludes that although clinical evidence does not raise safety concerns, current evidence of efficacy is limited. Therefore, evidence of patient benefit is currently too limited for the national health service to adopt MRI-guided ultrasound technology for treatment of essential tremor.

The Scottish Government notes that the national specialist services committee met in December 2018 to consider a stage 1 application for specialist treatment of patients with ET using magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound. The committee was unable to endorse the application for funding as a nationally designated service. It was highlighted that NICE guidance is “permissive”, and although there is some evidence for use of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound in essential tremor, there is a clear statement that research is needed into its application for Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis tremor.

The NSSC was clear that, should the evidence base be further developed and magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound be recognised as a safe and effective intervention for treatment of tremor, the committee would be willing to consider a reapplication.

On 16 December 2020, our predecessor committee took evidence from Professor Dipankar Nandi, who is a consultant neurosurgeon and head of department at Charing Cross hospital and St Mary’s hospital, and a professor at Imperial College London. Our meeting papers summarise the evidence from that meeting.

In her submission, the petitioner advised that her tremors and the lack of understanding surrounding them have impacted on her entire life. She does not believe that there is a need for further research into and evidence of the effectiveness of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound before the Scottish Government backs it. She notes that the treatment for essential tremor is currently available on Medicare in the USA and on the NHS in Japan, and in other countries around Europe.

When referencing the progress made by NHS England, the petitioner concludes that she believes that

“while England is proceeding a pace with providing this treatment, unfortunately Scotland is falling behind as the costs for bringing it to Scotland are”

simultaneously

“increasing.”

Before I turn to colleagues, I invite Rhoda Grant to speak in support of the petition.

Yes. I think that we should keep the petition open. I am mindful of the fact that the previous Public Petitions Committee considered it at length and that the reality is that the Scottish Government supports the initiative. It has confirmed that it is on budget and has referred to the review that was conducted independently through the digital assurance office. Even so, like David Torrance, I feel that we should probe the assertions that the system has been successfully deployed elsewhere in the world, and I would quite like the Civil Aviation Authority to be quite specific in telling us where it has been tested, and for us to see whether that is the case.

I have picked up on the suggestion that was made by various members that we should write to the Scottish Government to find out the status of the project and whether everything that it has previously said is still the case. We should find out whether it is still being reviewed and found to be being carried out to specification and on budget. I think that we could also incorporate in that letter the issues that Mr Sweeney raised. Do members agree to the proposed action?

Members indicated agreement.