Seòmar agus comataidhean

Considering that there is another parliamentary committee working in this area, I would like to refer the petition to the Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee for it to consider as part of its work on inshore fisheries issues.

As the consultation has been published and the cabinet secretary has indicated that there are no plans to abolish school uniforms or mandate specific school uniforms, I do not think that we can take the petition any further. I would like to close the petition under rule 15.7 of the standing orders.

The committee should keep the petition open until the fourth national planning framework is finalised and approved, so that we can see an updated version. We should also write to the Royal Town Planning Institute, Homes for Scotland and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to seek their views on the issues raised in the petition.

We should keep the petition open and, in doing so, write to the Scottish Government to highlight the UK Climate Change Committee’s recommendations to ban practices such as rotational burning on peatland by 2020 and to ban peat extraction, the sale of peat and peat imports by 2023. We should ask how feasible it would be to ban the extraction and use of peat by 2023; when the Scottish Government expects the delivery plan and timetable for phasing out horticultural peat to be developed and produced; when the public consultation will be launched; and how the petitioner can contribute to the consultation.

I whole-heartedly agree with your recommendations, convener, but I think that the committee should wait until we see the first stage of the review before we bring the petition back to the committee and take any further decisions on it.

I agree with Paul Sweeney’s comments. Can we also write to Police Scotland for information on how a family liaison officer is deployed and on their role, training and accountability in such situations?

Perhaps the committee could keep the petition open and, in doing so, write to the Scottish Government to ask whether the forthcoming housing bill will include provisions to prohibit local authorities from charging individuals for the provision of temporary accommodation, and whether the Government will give consideration to paying for temporary accommodation for homeless people and to waiving the outstanding debt that is owed by homeless people to local authorities for temporary accommodation.?

Thank you for that, minister.

Good morning, minister. Do you agree with the former Minister for Transport, Graeme Dey MSP, that

“It is neither tenable nor credible that”—[Official Report, 7 September 2021; c 94.]

island residents are not represented on the boards of organisations that provide lifeline services to their communities?

Yes—thank you, convener, and good morning to all the witnesses. In written evidence, the Scottish Taxi Federation argues that the current taxi and driver licensing regime under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 is no longer fit for purpose. Why do you think that, and how best could the system be brought up to date? Just to let you know, I was on the regulation and licensing board at Fife Council for 20 years.

My question is aimed at Murray Fleming and Robert McLean.