Seòmar agus comataidhean

I thank my colleagues for giving evidence. I would like to keep the petition open. We should write to the remote and rural general practice short-life working group, chaired by Sir Lewis Ritchie, and to the rural NHS boards to seek their views on the action called for in the petition. I would also like to write to Scottish Government to request an update on the establishment of a national centre for remote and rural health to see what progress has been made.

We must close the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders, because the matter is reserved to Westminster. However, I ask the committee to write to ask the petitioner to engage in the review that the UK Government will undertake by 2023.

Yes.

Can we ask the cabinet secretary to appear before us, rather than write to him, so that we can ask questions and hear evidence?

I agree that it is very difficult to explore any other avenues. I am happy to close the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders.

I have just looked at the submissions from the University of Dundee. Could we get an update from the University of Dundee? The last time that we heard from it was on 18 December 2020, when it said that it was hoping to have the equipment installed and up and running by 2021.

Like the convener, I think that we should keep the petitions open. We should write to the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport to seek an update on the progress of strategic transport projects review 2 and request an indication of when phase 2 outcomes will be announced. We can also ask him about his views on the United Kingdom Government upgrading the road. I would like to wait until we get written submissions back to see whether we should go ahead with holding a round-table meeting.

As someone who was a member of the session 5 committee when that evidence was given, I would like to ask the Scottish Government about the outcomes of the round-table event, what progress has been made in establishing an infectious diseases managed clinical network, what it has done to promote a public awareness campaign on Lyme disease and its long-term effects, and what further research is being done.

No—I do not.

I agree with Bill Kidd that we should keep the petition open and I back up his suggestions. I would like to get a legal opinion on the suggestion that ADP must be delivered on a “like for like basis” and that

“any changes which widen eligibility risk DWP deciding that ADP is not a comparable benefit to PIP and withdrawing automatic entitlement to reserved payments from Scottish clients.”

I would like to know whether that is definitely the case.