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I have engaged with the petitioner on the petition, which I believe is known as Stephanie’s petition. Stephanie Bonner is a constituent who lost her son three years ago in what was recorded as an unexplained death. The family has had no answers, has been let down by the authorities and is awaiting the outcome of a review by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner into the handling of the case. Nothing that I say today will do justice to the importance of the petition.

I am of the opinion that the committee should invite Stephanie Bonner to give evidence on her experience since the tragic passing of her son three years ago. I gave a commitment to the petitioner that I would encourage the committee to invite Stephanie to the committee at the earliest opportunity. Today’s meeting is the first opportunity that I have had to stand by that commitment.

Fundamentally, the petition is about improving the way in which unexplained deaths are dealt with. In order to do that, it is vital that the committee hears at first hand from those with experience of the current system and its flaws, and about the impact that that can have on families who are grieving and seeking answers and closure.

A particular focus of antisocial behaviour has been St Enoch square and what was formerly known as the four corners area of Glasgow around Argyle Street and under the Hielanman’s umbrella, but I am sure that the petitioner will have suggestions, too.

I concur with your and Ms Mochan’s comments, convener. There is an important need to keep the petition open. It is one thing to have the Government carry out a review, but it is the Parliament’s role to keep the Government under scrutiny, and the committee has an important function in that regard. The issue is clearly a live item of business that the committee has been attending to, and we are therefore well placed to perform that role. It would also be helpful to inform the lead committee that we intend to do that.

Thank you for that insight, Mr Fleming. It seems that the financial solution sits with the Scottish Government as regards the Energy Saving Trust products that are offered via the Government. If we are able to present a counter-proposal to the Government, that could potentially offer a way to deal with the intransigence that you have experienced at a council level. It seems that there is not much appetite for moving any further in terms of the deadlines, but perhaps there could be a remedy here that is similar to the financial remedy that Manchester has reached. Could we perhaps consider taking that forward?

I thank both witnesses for coming today. What does the selection procedure for the boards of Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd, David MacBrayne Ltd and Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd look like, and how is it determined? Obviously, there is a power structure in terms of who picks the people who go on those boards. How does that process work in practice?

It seems like a rigorous process for ensuring technical competence. I guess that there is a tension between the ideal of having representation and the fact that that is severely limited because of the population base that you can draw from.

I wonder whether there is a way of providing continuous professional development not just for the transport-related boards, but more widely across Government. For example, I am dealing with significant issues with community housing association boards in Glasgow, and there is a tension with the regulator, which says that a lot of the boards do not have the necessary technical competence, which creates pressure to take control away from communities. Is there a wider cross-Government approach to improving CPD opportunities for people who are eager to participate but who perhaps do not have the technical ability that is necessary to pass the selection panel?

I cannot remember what stage it is at, but I believe that there is a UK Parliament Fisheries Bill—it might have already passed into statute. It might be worth contacting the Scotland Office to see whether the UK Government has input on the matter.

You have described significant constraints such as the age profile, the financial crunch that is involved and the risks that are associated with people reaching the end of their careers having to take on a huge amount of financial leverage. The Scottish Government, in response to a written question that I lodged some months ago, indicated the three main schemes that the Energy Saving Trust is administering on its behalf.

The first is the switched-on taxi loan scheme, which offers interest free loans of up to £120,000, but I think that we heard a response mention a cost of servicing that of £800 to £1,000 a month.

The second is the low-emission zone retrofit fund, which provides

“80% grant funding to replace existing diesel engines to meet the Euro 6 standard for driving within a LEZ. The grant provides up to £10,000 per wheelchair accessible taxi installing re-powering technology, or £5,000 per taxi installing exhaust after-treatment systems.”

The third is the low-emission zone support fund,

“which is available to eligible microbusinesses and sole traders (including taxi operators)”

and provides

“a £2,500 grant towards the safe disposal of non-compliant vehicles as an incentive.”

Those are quotes from a response to a written question that I received on 6 January 2022.

You mentioned that the Manchester scheme has a £20,000 grant, so in the context of the three options that the Scottish Government has provided, would you suggest that enhancing the retrofit fund to provide a grant towards new purchases could be a satisfactory solution?

I propose that we invite Shelter Scotland to make a submission on the petition, as it might have some important insights.

I want to supplement Mr Ewing’s call for more evidence or helpful information. You mentioned the wider impact on the economy. Anecdotally, I can attest to significant issues in Glasgow that have been felt by businesses in the night-time economy, which are not getting the sort of trade that they used to get because people say that it is too difficult to get back home, and therefore the city is a ghost town at night. There are massive queues at taxi ranks next to train stations—people sometimes wait for about half an hour for a taxi out of George Square, and that is midweek. Places that hold big events, such as the Scottish Event Campus, are also feeling an impact on their ticket sales.

You mentioned the manufacturing base. We had a healthy ecosystem in manufacturing taxis at Allied Vehicles Group in Possilpark, employing more than 600 people in skilled manufacturing. You mentioned that the only product available is from a Coventry and Shanghai-based manufacturer called LEVC. There is a wider economic impact, both on the taxi supply chain in Scotland and on the night-time economy in major cities such as Glasgow.

If the witnesses could furnish us with more evidence—perhaps Unite could commission work or we could try to find ways to build up the picture—it would make for a more compelling argument.