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In our letter to the Scottish Government, I am quite happy to ask for the scope of the options that are explored to be broadened. The issue can hit any family and, depending on where they are and on accessibility, the incurred costs could be much higher or much lower. If they have to travel regularly but reimbursement is slow, or if they do not have access to funding to undertake that travel, even if the costs are subsequently reimbursed, that can be very prejudicial for families who are already highly sensitive and concerned about their child’s welfare.

I am quite happy to write to the Scottish Government to draw out all those issues. The willingness is often there, but without there being a full appreciation of how complicated the process for accessing funding can be.

Do members agree to proceed on that basis?

Members indicated agreement.

PE1881, which is on the sentencing of paedophiles and sexual predators, has been lodged by Carol Burns. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to increase the length of time that sexual predators serve in jail.

In its submission, the Scottish Government explains that

“the maximum penalty for the most serious sex offences, including rape, sexual assault by penetration and sexual assault, is life imprisonment.”

The petitioner suggests a minimum sentence of four years in order to provide victims with some peace of mind.

The SPICe briefing notes that work is being done by the Scottish Sentencing Council to prepare

“sentencing guidelines in relation to rape, sexual assault, and indecent images of children.”

I am minded to write to the Scottish Sentencing Council to seek an update on the progress of its work in that regard, particularly in relation to guidelines on rape, sexual assault and indecent images of children. Given that that work is under way, it would be useful to receive an update on it.

Is that agreed?

The fact that the Scottish Government cannot take forward the aims of the petition because it is outwith legal competence is certainly significant. Are colleagues minded to support David Torrance’s suggestion?

Members indicated agreement.

We can draw that to the Government’s attention.

Thank you all very much. Do members agree to take the course of action that I proposed?

Members indicated agreement.

I will sum up. We should very much keep David Torrance’s suggestion in mind, although I think that he agrees with colleagues that, in the first instance, we should seek information on what the status of all the issues is, as Tess White and other colleagues have suggested.

I would like to frame those questions around asking for a candid assessment of where things were before the Covid pandemic happened and what the pandemic has done. What impact has it had on delivery? If the impact has been prejudicial, what steps are being taken to get back on track? In response to our inquiry, I do not want to be told, “Of course, we’ve had a pandemic.” We all know that we have had a pandemic—I do not need to be told that. I would like to have a candid understanding of the pandemic’s impact and the plans that are in place to resolve that, in relation to all our questions. We could get something back that tells us what we already know; I would rather find out what we are going to do about the situation.

We will keep the petition open. Thank you very much for joining us, Monica. Are you happy with the course of action that we will take?

PE1872 is on improving the reliability of island ferry services—I will be cheeky and say that our last new ferry was launched in 1872. The petition, which was lodged by Liz Mcnicol, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to urgently ensure that all islanders have access to reliable ferry services. In its submission, the Scottish Government outlines action that it is taking in the short term and the long term to add resilience to the ferry fleet. That includes exploring opportunities to charter vessels to add resilience in the short term, and its long-term commitment to securing replacement vessels—several on-going projects are mentioned.

The Scottish Parliament information centre briefing highlights the major inquiry into the construction and procurement of ferry vessels that the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee undertook towards the end of session 5. That committee’s report was published on 9 December last year and made a range of recommendations, including calls for improvements in the strategy for replacing ageing vessels in the ferry fleet. Furthermore, in its session 5 legacy paper, the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee drew the attention of its successor committee to several ferries policy issues.

That covers the submissions and evidence that we have. Do members have comments or suggestions for action?

Is that on the basis that the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee can take the petition into account as part of its on-going review of ferry services?

Are members content that we write to the Scottish Government to seek a summary of the report on progress that has been made against the “Additional Support for Learning Action Plan” once it has been published, which we expect to be in the next few weeks—that will probably be in nice time for us to consider the petition again—and that we write to key stakeholders, including the children that Tess White identified, the General Teaching Council for Scotland, the Scottish Council of Deans of Education, Scottish Autism and the National Autistic Society, to seek their views on the petition and the Scottish Government’s submission on it? We will hold the petition open in anticipation of receiving their replies. Is everybody content with that approach?

Members indicated agreement.

That committee is already looking at the issue in detail. Does that suggestion meet members’ approval?

Members indicated agreement.

I sat on the cross-party group on chronic pain and I have come across people for whom some of those alternative approaches have clearly had a benefit. It is sometimes not clear talking to people in the medical establishment that they accept that those approaches can have a benefit.

I note that the UK Government regards hypnotherapy as a safe modality and that self-regulation should be sufficient. Is there anybody in the relevant UK department that we could ask about what it has done to come to that conclusion? We can see. Are members happy to try to establish different routes that we can pursue and keep the petition open?

Members indicated agreement.