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PE1947 was lodged by Alex O’Kane. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to address the disturbing culture of youth violence in Scotland. PE2064, which was lodged by Julie Mitchell, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to ensure that under-16s who are charged with rape are treated as adults in the criminal justice system.

As I mentioned, we took evidence on the issues relating to these petitions in June. Since then, we have received a written submission from the Lord Advocate which provides data on cases of sexual and violent offending. The issues in these petitions have been of great concern to the committee. In respect of the petition lodged by Alex O’Kane, members will know—although I am the only member left who was present—that it was the subject of a visit to Glasgow where the committee met those who had been most badly affected, in horrendous ways, by the culture of youth violence.

These are petitions that we have taken a great deal of interest in during the course of this session of Parliament and I think that the issues within them are still relevant and live. However, the time for us to do further work in this session of Parliament is limited in the extreme and I am of the view that we have maybe taken these petitions as far forward in this session as we can.

I would like to suggest that we now summarise all the work that we have done and that, in closing the petitions, we write to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs with that information. That summary letter would then be published on the committee web pages so that individuals could see the work that we have done. We would say to the petitioners that these issues are still live and may very well sensibly be pursued with fresh petitions at the start of the next session of Parliament. Do colleagues agree with that? Is there anything further that they would like to add by way of testament?

PE2112, which was lodged by Carole Erskine on behalf of Pregnant Then Screwed, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to commission an independent review of publicly funded early learning and childcare in Scotland, in order to better understand and address the challenges that families face when trying to secure and afford childcare.

We last considered the petition on 30 October 2024, when we agreed to write to the National Day Nurseries Association Scotland; the Scottish Private Nursery Association; the parents group Connect; the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities; and the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills.

The Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise wrote to the committee on 29 November 2024. In her letter, she reiterated that the Scottish Government does not plan to commission an external review at this point in time and that it intends to learn from an evaluation of the 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare. That evaluation was due in 2025. The minister also referenced the Government’s early adopter community work, which is taking place in six local authorities and aims to help the Government to understand what it takes to deliver local childcare systems that support families with children.

The submission from the National Day Nurseries Association supports the aim of the petition and expresses concern that the delivery of the 1,140 hours policy, which, in itself, is beneficial, can lead to the closure of nurseries, due to unsustainable funding and workforce pressures. That is echoed by the submission from the Scottish Private Nursery Association, which states that the failure by some local councils to pass the full funding for the 1,140 hours on to childcare providers leads to nurseries increasing their fees in order to cover the shortfall.

The submission from Connect highlights the results of its 2021 survey on experiences of the 1,140 hours entitlement. Among its conclusions is the lack of variety and flexibility in the range and type of childcare provision, which sometimes leads to many funded hours going unused—because the arrangements make no practical sense for families and their needs.

On the other hand, COSLA’s response points us to its publication, “Getting in Early—Local Government’s role in Delivering Early Learning and Childcare”, which highlights increases in the numbers of children accessing funded ELC and in the proportion of children who are accessing the full 1,140 hours entitlement.

Finally, the committee has received written submissions from our colleagues Liam McArthur and Monica Lennon. They both say that the current approach to childcare provision does not work for families and support the petition’s call for an independent review of publicly funded ELC in Scotland.

We are joined by our colleague Meghan Gallacher. I wonder whether she would like to say a few words to the committee before we determine how we might best proceed.

Thank you, Mr Burnett. That was commendably concise.

Fergus Ewing has proposed that we invite the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy to attend a meeting of the committee. Are colleagues content to support that suggestion?

Members indicated agreement.

We will keep the petition open, seek a meeting with the cabinet secretary and make sure that all members who have expressed an interest in the petition are aware of when that session will take place. At my discretion, one or two may be able to put some questions to the cabinet secretary at that time.

Thank you, Mr Torrance. That was very helpful. Do members have any other comments?

How would we accommodate that along with Mr Torrance’s recommendation?

PE2110, which was lodged by Charles Millar, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to develop and introduce a statutory fisheries management plan that is focused on protecting wild wrasse stocks in Scottish waters, beginning with a data collection exercise and the introduction of precautionary fisheries management measures ahead of the next fishing season, which commences in May 2025—obviously, the petition was lodged some time ago.

We previously considered the petition on 30 October 2024, when we agreed to write to the Scottish Government. In particular, the committee was keen to find out what consideration the Scottish Government had given to the total allowable catch limits on commercial wrasse fishing and what discussions it had had with the UK Government on the development of its wrasse complex fisheries management plan, including the potential to develop similar measures in Scottish waters.

In its response of 24 December 2024, the Scottish Government indicates that it has no plans to introduce a total allowable catch limit for each of the five species of wrasse. It points to overall catch limits being applied in Norway, but it considers that, since that approach is based on a fixed point in time, it is not a valid measure of sustainability. Additionally, the Government highlights an unintended consequence of Norway’s catch limits, whereby fishers seek to land as many fish as possible before the overall limit has been reached.

The petitioner considers that a daily or weekly catch limit could be set to prevent all the fishing effort taking place at the start of the fishing season. The Scottish Government’s response also mentions that it is co-funding a PhD research studentship to investigate the appropriate principles of possible catch rules for wrasse species.

Regarding engagement with the UK Government, the Scottish Government states that it set out the selection criteria that were used for the first fisheries management plans in the joint fisheries statement. Additionally, the Government has commissioned the Seafish industry authority to undertake initial scoping work to help inform Scotland’s approach to FMPs for non-quota species, including wrasse. That work involves engagement with the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

As recently as June, the Scottish Government published the “Regulated commercial use of traps/pots to catch wrasse in Scottish inshore waters: Fisheries Assessment”. In response to that assessment, the petitioner welcomes the fact that wrasse fishery is now closed in special areas of conservation and in some nature conservation marine protected areas. However, he is disappointed that the assessment still does not include a total allowable catch stock assessment or anything relating to managing the fishery outwith those areas.

We have received a very late submission from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands—it arrived yesterday. That is quite difficult, as we have not had time to properly consider it ahead of the petition, but it touches on some of the matters that I detailed in my preamble. Do colleagues have any suggestions as to how we might proceed?

Are colleagues content to close the petition?

Members indicated agreement.

PE2120, which was lodged by Tam Wilson on behalf of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to permanently remove peak fare pricing from ScotRail services. I express appreciation to all those who have contributed further evidence to the committee on the matter. The committee will be aware of the action that the Scottish Government has subsequently announced. In the light of that, and given that the petition’s objective has been achieved, are colleagues content to close the petition?

Members indicated agreement.