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Seòmar agus comataidhean

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 16 June 2025
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Displaying 1043 contributions

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Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee [Draft]

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 7 May 2025

David Torrance

I wonder whether the committee would consider closing the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders, given that the Scottish Government does not promote the Lullaby Trust as a baby loss support organisation and provides grant funding to the Scottish Cot Death Trust to deliver its sudden unexpected death in infancy simulation and awareness training. Further, the Scottish Cot Death Trust aligns with and supports most of the Scottish Government’s safer messaging, but was unable to support the final messaging relating to bed sharing and how to do so more safely.

In closing the petition, I wonder whether the committee could write to the Scottish Government to encourage it to review its safer sleep messaging and, in doing so, to engage constructively with the Scottish Cot Death Trust to ensure that Scottish families have access to the most robust infant safer sleeping messages.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee [Draft]

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 7 May 2025

David Torrance

In the light of the Scottish Government’s response, I wonder whether the committee would consider closing the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders on the basis that an inside-out approach is taken to sequencing works, whereby build begins from the primary exchange location, where the main fibre controls unit is located, out into communities, and on the basis that the Scottish Government has given no indication that it intends to prioritise properties with internet speeds of less than 5 Mbps.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee [Draft]

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 7 May 2025

David Torrance

In the light of that evidence, I suggest that we close the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders, on the basis that the Scottish Government has confirmed that proposals for highly protected marine areas will not be progressed and that NatureScot is not progressing any work related to highly protected marine areas.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee [Draft]

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 23 April 2025

David Torrance

As somebody who represents some of the areas of highest deprivation in Scotland, I am a bit taken aback by the figures that Dianne Breen gave that almost 100 per cent of children go to those classes as first-time swimmers. That highlights how important it is for children to learn to swim at primary school.

On funding for that, how can the Scottish Government help to ensure that primary school children learn to swim? I am a member of the governing party, so I am asking how we can ensure that every primary school kid learns to swim. It is so important. In areas of deprivation, levels of health and wellbeing are very low, so if we can increase that through sport and activity, it will help us.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee [Draft]

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 23 April 2025

David Torrance

Thank you, convener. My question is on opening facilities that have been closed. We all know that swimming pools have huge costs, especially running costs, and that heating the water is probably the biggest cost that such facilities will have. There is modern technology out there and there are new ways of heating pools and using energy. Why are local authorities not embracing that as quickly as they could? Would facilities be more viable if they embraced the new technology that is out there to reduce costs?

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee [Draft]

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 23 April 2025

David Torrance

In the light of the evidence from the cabinet secretary, perhaps the committee would consider closing the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders for the following reasons: a preferred route for a permanent solution to the landslip risks on the A83 Rest and Be Thankful has now been identified; draft orders for both the medium-term and long-term solutions were published in December 2024, and the period for submitting objections ended on 7 February 2025; and Transport Scotland is now in the process of considering representations on, and objections to, the draft orders.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee [Draft]

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 23 April 2025

David Torrance

Perhaps the committee would consider writing to the Scottish Government to seek its views on whether, in the interests of safety and parity with formal campsites and areas, landowners who allow overnight motorhome habitation should be required to obtain a licence for that activity.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee [Draft]

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 23 April 2025

David Torrance

I am in full agreement that we should pass the petition to the Criminal Justice Committee, because it would have far more time for an investigation than this committee would.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee [Draft]

New Petitions

Meeting date: 23 April 2025

David Torrance

Perhaps the committee could consider writing to stakeholders to seek their views on the action that the petition calls for. Those stakeholders should include COSLA; Connect, which was formerly the Scottish Parent Teacher Council; the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland; Together, the Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights; and the Scottish Youth Parliament.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee [Draft]

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 23 April 2025

David Torrance

In the light of the information that we have received, I ask the committee to consider closing the petition under rule 15.7 of standard orders, on the basis that the charter of rights for people affected by substance use has now been introduced, and that the Scottish Government’s policy on image and performance-enhancing drugs is that it will continue to support Police Scotland in tackling any criminality, and to support local treatment and recovery services to provide help for people who have been impacted by drugs of any kind, including IPEDs.

I suggest that the committee, in closing the petition, might wish to write to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee to highlight the petition and to ask that the issues that it raises be considered as part of further work on cross-committee scrutiny of matters related to reducing drug deaths and tackling problem drug use.