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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 4 May 2021
  6. Current session: 13 May 2021 to 15 September 2025
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Displaying 751 contributions

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Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland

Meeting date: 9 March 2023

Alexander Stewart

As you identify, managing that communication is vitally important so that there is no misunderstanding of the complexity—it might not be black or white; there are still grey areas in all of this. As members, we acknowledge that and think about how we fit into the process, but we and others must have confidence that your organisation will not only manage and support but investigate and be able to show, at the end, that you have gone through the process fairly and without favour. That is what we need to see in order to have confidence in the organisation. There might have been a slight lack of confidence in the past, but we all want to get to that place—I have no doubt that you do, and your report itemises that very clearly. We need to be sure that the steps that you are taking are making progress and that we are seeing that resolution for the future.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

Alexander Stewart

At the previous meeting, I asked for some of that information, which we have now received. In the circumstances that we now find ourselves in, I propose that we close the petition under rule 15.7 of the standing orders on the basis that the JCVI has no plans to review the need for or value of an HPV vaccination catch-up programme for boys due to the indirect protection offered through herd immunity. We have collated and brought forward information, but I do not believe that it will change the direction of where we are.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

New Petitions

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

Alexander Stewart

I concur with Mr Torrance’s comments. It is vital that we find out where the defibrillators are and their background. I am aware that charitable organisations also do a lot of work on this; they fundraise for local areas and provide defibrillators. It might be useful to find out whether they are doing anything. I know, for example, that the Order of St John is doing a national campaign across Scotland to introduce defibrillators to churches, golf clubs and other appropriate locations. It would be useful to find out whether anything that they are doing could complement or supplement what will happen through Mr Torrance’s suggestions.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

Alexander Stewart

There is no doubt that COSLA has a strong case with reference to the estate, but the Children and Young People’s Commissioner also gave us some suggestions. It might therefore be useful to not close the petition at this stage but seek more information. I suggest that we write to the Scottish Government to ask what consideration has been given to reviewing and updating the learning estate strategy in the light of the comments that the Children and Young People’s Commissioner has made. That might give us further indication. I acknowledge what COSLA says and that the petition may not be able to progress after that, but, at this stage, it might be useful for us to get some of that information.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

Alexander Stewart

As you say, this is a very topical issue and members and communities have been sceptical about what is taking place. More requires to be done. We should keep the petition open. It might be useful to find out from the Scottish Government what proportion of Scotland currently has superfast broadband and when it is anticipated that all households will have it. In your comments, you touched on rural locations and geographical challenges. It is vital that we find out whether the Government has evaluated the full fibre broadband charter in Scotland and the efficacy of extending and expanding the build into remote, rural and geographically challenging areas. That is the crux of it. It is those locations that have the problem. Those communities and their representatives are sceptical about where things are going and how they are progressing. If we can get some of that information from the Scottish Government, it will help our deliberation.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

New Petitions

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

Alexander Stewart

The petitioner makes some valid points. It is apparent that things have not really changed in that time. It would be useful to write to SEPA to highlight the issues that have been raised by the petitioner, seek information about the review of the regulation of private sewerage systems and ask whether consideration has been given to alternative approaches for identifying and authorising private sewage discharges. As I said, the petition makes some valid points, and I would keep it open in order to ask SEPA to clarify those issues.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

Alexander Stewart

I am more than happy to take the views of the committee, convener.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

New Petitions

Meeting date: 22 February 2023

Alexander Stewart

It is important that we collate as much information on this topic as we can. If we contact those agencies and organisations that you indicated, convener, they will be able to give us their views on any action that may be required. That will enable us to take a much better and a more holistic approach to challenging the issues raised by the petition. As Carol Mochan has said, the law requires updating. It has been decades since the issue has been examined in that way. By collecting that information and putting it all together we will have a much better picture as to how the issue is being approached across those organisations in Scotland.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

New Petitions

Meeting date: 22 February 2023

Alexander Stewart

This is a very important issue. We have heard about some areas in the submissions that we have already received, but we need to get more information. We should write to the Scottish Government highlighting the online systems that have been introduced in Australia and in the Netherlands and seek information on what considerations have been given to developing a similar service in Scotland for parents who have separated. It would be very useful for us to collate information on other countries that have put that in place.

It might be quite useful for us to seek the views of some of the organisations that we have here in Scotland, such as the Law Society of Scotland, the Family Law Association, the Scottish Legal Aid Board, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, Relationships Scotland and the family law committee of the Scottish Civil Justice Council, to find out where we can take the petition. Those are my suggestions, convener.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 22 February 2023

Alexander Stewart

I think that we need to write to COSLA to ask which of the local authorities are yet to roll out the mentors in violence prevention programme in secondary schools, requesting information about what challenges have prevented implementation and details of work planned to address those. We should ask what challenges local government faces in embedding schools-based prevention of violence against women and girls.

We should also write to Rape Crisis Scotland to request information on its reporting mechanisms for its equally safe at school—ESAS—strategy and whether its planned work with local authorities has resulted in an increase in ESAS activities across Scotland. That information would be very useful and clarify where we are in this whole process. As you have indicated, convener, this is an immensely important issue. If measures are embedded at school level, that will help to prevent gender-based violence once pupils have left school.