Seòmar agus comataidhean

We have a few minutes each for Monica Lennon and Richard Leonard to speak. We have a fixed amount of time, so please be mindful of that.

I encourage you to sum up now.

Thank you. I have been enjoying and reflecting on the evidence that has been given by the three of you. At the risk of creating panic among the clerks and my colleagues, I propose that the committee visit the neonatal unit in Wishaw for ourselves to see what we can discover and to bring attention to the issue. Do colleagues have any other suggestions?

Thank you. I hope that we can don something with this petition and make some progress on if. We can speak again in an effort to progress that.

That brings us to the end of our consideration of new petitions this morning. Before we move into private session, I acknowledge that, although this committee has been fortunate to win the Holyrood magazine powering change award previously, we were only one of the three nominees this time. Nonetheless, I pay tribute to the clerks for all the work that they do, which helped to support the nomination that we received. I know that committee members very much value the work that they do, and we know in our hearts that, if we are being nominated, it is as much because of the work that they do on our behalf as the representations that we make.

Your comments are very much appreciated. I believe that the correct term is a parliament of owls, not a suite of MSPs.

If we have all the wisest owls here, Mr Ewing, we can be very pleased with ourselves.

I think that I caught one or two suggestions in Tess White’s evidence—that will be in the Official Report. There was something about underground cabling. Could you repeat that little section for me?

Good morning, and welcome to the 13th—lucky for us all—meeting in 2024 of the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee. Our first agenda item is a decision on whether to take items 4 and 5 in private. One of those items relates to the draft report on our inquiry into the A9 dualling project, which we hope to approve and, thereafter, publish in the near future. Are members content to take those items in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Item 2 is consideration of continued petitions. First, PE1723, which was lodged by Mary Ramsay in the previous parliamentary session and was carried forward into this one, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to raise awareness of essential tremor and to support the introduction and use of a focused ultrasound scanner for treating people in Scotland who have the condition.

We previously considered the petition in October 2023, when we agreed to request an update from NHS Tayside on its application for a designated magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound service. In August this year, NHS Tayside advised us that its plan had been to submit a funding application to the national services division in March, but that division advised that there would be

“a change to the funding available in 2024/25 which impacted on the usual annual submission process.”

That led NHS Tayside not to proceed with the bid. It has stated that, should the normal submission process recommence in 2025, it will progress with a bid as planned.

Members will be aware that Rhoda Grant, who has taken an interest in the petition, was hoping to join us this morning but has been unable to do so, although she has provided a written submission.

As I said, the petition was carried forward from one session to another, and the fact that the funding stream has not materialised is quite disturbing.

Do colleagues have any suggestions about how we might proceed?

PE2026, which was lodged by Sam McCahon, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to amend the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to eliminate council tax discounts for second homes and vacant properties and to make the property owner, rather than a tenant, liable for the payment of council tax.

We last considered the petition on 6 September 2023, when we agreed to write to the Scottish Government, Shelter Scotland and Citizens Advice Scotland. The Scottish Government’s response highlights the recent legislation, of which members will be aware, that provides local authorities with the power to increase council tax on second homes—not just to remove the second-home discount but to increase council tax on second homes. Many councils have now introduced a 100 per cent premium. The submission states that the legislation aims to ensure that the tax system prioritises homes for living in.

In the light of the Scottish Government’s response, which points out what it has done, and the lack of any progress on the other aims of the petition—although it goes beyond the aim of the petitioner in one respect—do colleagues have any suggestions for action?

Our next new petition, PE2095, which was lodged by Margaret Tracey Smith, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to review and seek to update section 3.2 of the energy consents unit’s “Good Practice Guidance for Applications under Section 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act 1989”—that was a mouthful—to address the concerns of communities about the lack of meaningful, responsible and robust voluntary and pre-application consultation by transmission operators on energy infrastructure projects, and to explore all available levers to strengthen community liaison and public participation for the life cycle of energy infrastructure projects.

We are joined for our consideration of the petition by another of our colleagues, Tess White, who is a former member of the committee. Good morning, Tess.

The petition has been prompted by concerns about the quality and transparency of the public consultation accompanying SSEN Transmission’s east coast 400kV upgrade project, which the petition has described as rushed and inconsistent.

The SPICe briefing highlights that there are no statutory pre-application consultation requirements for energy consent applications under sections 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act 1989. Instead, the carrying out of pre-application consultation with the public is considered good practice, with the Scottish Government’s energy consents unit having published guidance on what that should include.

In responding to the petition, the then Minister for Climate Action told us that, although the Scottish Government has made repeated requests of the United Kingdom Government for additional regulatory powers to place pre-application engagement on a statutory footing, electricity transmission remains a reserved matter. The minister also stated that, although current good practice guidance is considered appropriate for most forms of electricity development, the scale and linear nature of transmission development potentially requires a more detailed approach to be set out in guidance. The response went on to say that Scottish ministers will consider how to take forward development of pre-application guidance specific to transmission line applications, with the intention of giving affected communities clear and meaningful opportunities to influence the process of developing route options.

There is some interest in progressing some of the aims of the petition, which I think is significant, but, before we proceed to comment further, I ask Tess White whether she would like to speak to the committee.