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To follow up on the point about Kym Kestell’s evidence, she said that there are potentially thousands of defibrillators that we do not really know about, as they are not registered, and that that provision could be mapped and logged. What can we do to encourage that process to take place?

How did that lack of clarity come about, and how did the situation evolve to the point where you felt that further work was needed to clarify it?

Thank you for that. If you are seeking to encourage me to attend events where exercise is involved, you will have the whole-hearted support of Mrs Carlaw, even if I am slightly more reluctant.

Did Police Scotland act without giving due thought at the time to disquiet that might be a consequence of the statement that came out in 2019? What was the motivation at that point?

In so far as officers are confident in how they proceed, is it now the case that the same criteria are applied in relation to the policy for all sexual offences and that there is no distinction in that regard?

We face the fact that the Law Society of Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service want to do nothing further. The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs has made it perfectly clear that the Scottish Government does not intend to do anything further. At the same time, the committee is of the view that the issues that the petition raises are more important than the dusty response that we have received implies.

As the responses that we received came before the roundtable discussion that took place, and as there appears to be wider cross-party support and understanding of the failures on the issue, I suggest that we write to the cabinet secretary to say that we would like her to consider the matter further, given that there is considerable disquiet for the reasons that Mr Marra has articulated. As Mr Ewing has said, it seems extraordinary that there have been no inquiries in Scotland when, irrespective of the system being different, the authorities in England and Wales have been able to progress inquiries in the face of the exact same challenges that any inquiry led in Scotland would face.

I am perfectly content for the committee to write to the chief constable, saying that it is an issue with which it would be helpful for Police Scotland to engage—my mother would correct me on my grammar if I got that the wrong way round. We can ask whether the Government would be prepared to meet Mr Marra and the petitioner with a view to progressing the matter. Are there any other suggestions from the committee?

PE2087, lodged by Paul Irvine, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to pass a law making exercising a dog in a cemetery an offence punishable by an on-the-spot fine for infringement.

We last considered the petition on 19 March, when we agreed to write to all local authorities in Scotland. The committee received responses from 13 local authorities, 11 of which have cemetery management rules in place for dogs. The rules that are in place either exclude non-assistance dogs or require them to be on a leash or kept under control. A number of local authorities noted that signage is in place to explain the rules and that, in some cases, additional signage has been placed in cemeteries where dog activity has proved to be a concern.

Where the number of complaints was provided, the instances were low. However, other responses noted that non-compliance with cemetery rules does take place and that enforcement can be challenging.

Do members have any suggestions as to how we might proceed?

Are members content to proceed on the basis of Mr Torrance’s recommendation?

Members indicated agreement.

PE2181, lodged by Paul Blaker on behalf of Accountability Scotland, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to introduce measures to stop teachers backdating or altering school records in SEEMiS and other education management information systems. SEEMiS, which is the management information system provider that is used by local authority schools in Scotland, holds the core student records.

The petitioner believes that the practice of altering school records after they were created is open to abuse and could cause significant harm to children. The SPICe briefing cites the particular case mentioned by the petitioner in which a local council in Scotland was censured by the Information Commissioner’s Office for backdating education records, and it adds that, in a separate case, a different council was found by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman not to have consistently recorded incidents reported in pastoral and other recording systems.

In its response to the petition, the Scottish Government makes clear its expectation that local authorities and schools should keep accurate and timely records in compliance with relevant legislation and Government guidance. The Scottish Government also expects local authorities to ensure that staff and teachers understand how information should be recorded and to have clear audit processes and procedures in place to track who has accessed such systems and what changes have been made to pre-existing information, together with the reason for those changes.

SEEMiS explained to our SPICe researchers that the ability to backdate or update records in pastoral notes is intended to align with the day-to-day practice in schools. Teachers or staff might not be able to update records immediately and, therefore, may create or update records when they have non-contact time. SEEMiS also clarifies that, following the issues highlighted in the first case that I mentioned, changes were made to the system to allow local authorities to access the content history of an entry, rather than just the dates and the authors of any changes.

Colleagues, do we have any suggestions as to how we might proceed?

Are colleagues content, on that basis, to draw the petition to a close?