Seòmar agus comataidhean

Okay. Are members content to close the petition on that basis?

Members indicated agreement.

In light of that, are we content to support Mr Torrance’s proposal, with the notes that have been suggested?

Members indicated agreement.

That brings us to the final new petition for consideration in the 2021 to 2026 session: PE2211, on following the science and broadening eligibility for Covid vaccines. It is not only the final new petition of the session; by definition, it is the final new petition for consideration today. Lodged by Peter Barlow, it calls on the Scottish Parliament to recognise the flaws in the guidance of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and to broaden eligibility for updated Covid vaccines, including Novavax, to include those who are at moderate or high risk.

The Scottish Government’s response to the petition states that its decision making on all Covid-19 vaccination matters continues to be guided by the independent clinical advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which follows rigorous consideration of risks and benefits for different population groups.

The JCVI’s advice notes that the vaccines’ ability to prevent transmission is now expected to be extremely limited. As a result, in the current phase of the pandemic, the indirect benefits of vaccinating one group to reduce severe disease in others are significantly reduced.

The submission notes that the JCVI considered a range of evidence when advising who should be offered a winter 2025 vaccination dose. Public Health Scotland’s monitoring found in November 2025 that Covid-19 case rates remained at baseline levels overall.

On the question of making the Novavax vaccine available, although it remains the Scottish Government’s policy position that non-mRNA Covid-19 vaccines must be made available, no non-mRNA products were authorised for use in the UK at the time of writing. The submission notes that the Scottish vaccination and immunisation programme is keeping that under review, to see whether supply becomes available at a later date.

The petitioner has provided a written response in which he emphasises that it is misleading to describe Covid as endemic, as that wrongly implies that the pandemic stage is over. His view is that that false impression seeks to justify a reduction in precautions such as vaccination.

The submission notes feedback from people who currently take precautions, such as immunocompromised people and carers, who want sensible mitigations to be reintroduced so that they can lead more active lives without being threatened with illness or disability. The submission calls for vaccination to be combined with other layers of protection such as mask wearing and good air quality. The petitioner states that we should be following the well-established science on airborne infections.

Do members have any comments or suggestions for action? We will close where we started—with Covid.

Are colleagues content to follow that recommendation?

Members indicated agreement.

Are colleagues content for us to take Mr Torrance’s proposal as our position?

I would have thought that the Parliament ought to seek to explore that more generally in the Health and Social Care Committee.

That is helpful additional information that we might communicate to the petitioner.

Are we content to take forward Mr Golden’s proposal to close the petition?

Members indicated agreement.

Are we content to proceed on that basis?

So we are minded to close the petition on the basis that the Government said that it would not commission an independent review. However, after the Government’s evaluation is published, there could be the opportunity for a completely fresh petition to take the position forward. I urge the petitioner to consider that in the next session, and I hope that Meghan Gallacher will be able to discuss that route forward with the petitioner, too.

PE2151 is on granting protected status to primitive goat species in the Scottish Borders. There is considerable public interest in this petition; indeed, I know that there is considerable interest in the public gallery, from the Scottish media more generally, from members of Parliament and from members of the Scottish Parliament who live in areas where this is an issue.

The petition, which has been lodged by Kenneth Erik Moffatt, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to help ensure the survival of primitive goat species in the Scottish Borders by granting them protected status. We previously considered the petition on 10 September 2025, when we agreed to write to the Scottish Government, the UK Joint Nature Conservation Committee, NatureScot and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

We are aware, through written evidence and other correspondence, of the strength of feeling on the issue and how it affects the Langholm and Newcastleton goats in particular. The response that we received from the JNCC explains that, according to its policy guidance, species are eligible for inclusion under legal protection only if they are both native to Great Britain and endangered. It states that feral goats are understood to be non-native to the UK and are therefore ineligible under current guidance. The JNCC further notes that it would be difficult to define and enforce protection for British primitive goats as distinct from more modern variants, because they are taxonomically—a word that I have not deployed previously—the same species, and there is no commonly accepted subspecies status for feral populations.

However, submissions from the Wild Goat Conservation Trust and the petitioner argue that the Langholm and Newcastleton goat is distinct of type. We understand that there is some academic interest in studying its DNA, although the funding is not necessarily available to undertake that work.

The Scottish Government reiterates that it has no plans to provide full legal protected status or increase regulatory protection for feral goats because, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, they are considered to be outwith their native range in Scotland. Additionally, both the Scottish Government and NatureScot reiterate concerns about the impact of grazing pressure on the environment, although the submission from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service suggests that goat grazing could contribute to wildfire control.

Finally—and this, I am afraid, is the clincher for us in the Parliament—members might be aware that our MSP colleague Rachael Hamilton lodged stage 2 amendments to the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill in relation to the protection of wild goats and, specifically, the goats of the Langholm and Newcastleton hills. After the debate on those amendments, the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee voted against them.

Bearing in mind that the issue has now been debated and voted on by a committee of the Parliament, do we have any comments or suggestions for action?