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Showing 60 of 2,096,833 contributions. Latest 30 days: 2,655. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 09 Jun 2026.
Jackson Carlaw Con Chamber
24 Mar 2026
Animal Welfare (Sentencing and Public Protection)
I, too, pay tribute to Rona Mackay—I knew that this was her final speech, and I meant to comment on the fact—because she has been an indefatigable champion of the issue of chronic pain throughout her time as a member. In the absence of my former partners in the transvaginal me...
Jackson Carlaw (Eastwood) (Con) Con Chamber
24 Mar 2026
Animal Welfare (Sentencing and Public Protection)
Presiding Officer, I am here under false pretences. I understood that that was to be Christine Grahame’s final speech, and yet I now gather that there are to be more final speeches than Frank Sinatra had farewell concerts.I am very happy to contribute to today’s debate, not ju...
Jackson Carlaw (Eastwood) (Con) Con Chamber
19 Mar 2026
Standing Order Rule Changes (Gender-sensitive Audit Recommendations)
As the only man on a corporate body dominated by women, I ask Mr Whitfield whether he is confirming that no man would find himself in such a happy position in a future Parliament.
Jackson Carlaw (Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body) Con Chamber
19 Mar 2026
Reimbursement of Members’ Expenses Scheme and Party Leaders’ Expenses Scheme
As concisely as I can, I will speak to and move two motions on behalf of the corporate body.The corporate body lodged two motions to replace the current reimbursement of members’ expenses and party leaders’ expenses schemes. We are making the change now, in order that the new ...
Jackson Carlaw Con Chamber
19 Mar 2026
Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Question Time · Pastoral Support (Members)
Yes, I think that we can agree on that. I hope that such matters will be properly explored further when the corporate body is able to engage with the successor SPPA Committee on the issue.
Jackson Carlaw (Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body) Con Chamber
19 Mar 2026
Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Question Time · Pastoral Support (Members)
It is harder to be succinct in response to that question, Presiding Officer.The corporate body noted with interest the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee’s announcement. The corporate body offers a wide range of pastoral support measures for members who ar...
Jackson Carlaw Con Chamber
19 Mar 2026
Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Question Time · World Cup Bank Holiday
The corporate body will not designate Monday 15 June as an additional holiday for its staff. However, the corporate body recognises that many staff will wish to mark the participation of Scotland’s men’s team in the world cup for the first time since 1998, and managers will be...
Jackson Carlaw (Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body) Con Chamber
19 Mar 2026
Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Question Time · World Cup Bank Holiday
In deference to your instruction, Presiding Officer, I say no.
Jackson Carlaw Con Chamber
19 Mar 2026
Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Question Time · Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance
I understand the question that Mr Lumsden is asking. The members’ expenses scheme clearly states that the corporate body“shall publish information on expenses reimbursed to members under the Scheme in such form and at such intervals as the SPCB may determine.”As I have already...
Jackson Carlaw (Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body) Con Chamber
19 Mar 2026
Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Question Time · Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance
The corporate body has met the additional costs of the second home premium on members’ leased Edinburgh accommodation since it was first introduced in 2024. Provision of funding to cover the second home premium is provided in addition to the annual allocation. Continuation of ...
Jackson Carlaw (Eastwood) (Con) Con Chamber
17 Mar 2026
Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill
I supported Margo MacDonald’s bill and Patrick Harvie’s bill on the matter. I eventually abstained on Margo’s bill. She told me to abstain for reasons that I will not repeat here, because I might get arrested.I have found today that I come to this debate with no personal story...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
As that brings us to the conclusion of the public part of the meeting, I just want to say what an absolute pleasure and privilege it has been to be the convener of this committee in this session of Parliament. I thank the current cohort of colleagues—Fergus Ewing, Davy Russell...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
Although it is very kind of you to give me a further opportunity to comment on NatureScot, Mr Torrance, I will resist the temptation on this occasion. I do not know that I want that to be my personal legacy from the committee.Notwithstanding that, it is clear that there are st...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
Are we agreed, colleagues?
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
That brings us to the final petition that we will consider in this parliamentary session—PE2202, on stopping the guga hunt. The petition, lodged by Rachel Bigsby, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to amend section 16 of the Wildlife and Countrysi...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
The proof of the pudding will be in the eating, to borrow the cliché. Should that not be the case, there will be an opportunity for a fresh petition to be submitted to examine whether the matters need to be pursued further by a fresh committee.
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
These matters might well resurface in the next parliamentary session, as things progress.
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
Colleagues, are we content with that suggestion?Members indicated agreement.
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
Our penultimate continued petition under consideration today is PE2208, lodged by Joanna Kerr, which calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to place a statutory requirement on public bodies to collect statistics on the nationality, ethnicity, immigrat...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
In closing the petition, we could write to the Government, summarising the points made by the petitioner. She raised the issue with us, it has been picked up in the Parliament and the Government has now confirmed that it will hold an inquiry, but we could state the areas that ...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
PE2190, which was lodged by Mandy McGurk, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to commission an independent grooming gang inquiry to identify and understand the prevalence of child grooming in Scotland. We last considered the petition on 14 January,...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
I think that, in this instance, we will close the petition, but with those recommendations. The issue could be explored further and, if we had had more time, there might have been an option to consider evidence on the issue, which is obviously a matter of considerable concern,...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
Mr Golden, do you have anything to add?
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
But if the focus was narrowed to the most extreme cases, it might be easier.
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
We could also pick up on a point that we can lift from the submission by the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland about its concern over the lack of support available to child victims. We could try to address that point, and potentially the exclusion of the most e...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
PE2139, which was lodged by Maria Giordano, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to introduce automatic expulsion for children who are charged on suspicion of committing a crime against another child.We last considered the petition on 28 January, wh...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
At this point—I forgot to say this earlier—I should note that we do not have Fergus Ewing with us this morning. He tabled his apologies, but I know that these are issues with which he has been particularly concerned.
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
Do we agree with Mr Torrance’s recommendation?Members indicated agreement.
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
PE2132, which was lodged by The Inverness Courier, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to publish a clear timeline for dualling the A96 between Inverness and Nairn and the construction of a bypass from Nairn, ensuring that the timeline is made publ...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
We will keep the petition open. In the legacy report, we will need to make sure that we explain what we have done and why we have done it. It is still a matter of huge public concern. The worries that the committee has expressed about the realities of delivering the plans on t...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
Let us hear from Maurice Golden, who is joining us online.
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
Thank you, Jackie Baillie. That was helpful. A lot of what you said seems to tie in with the views that we have heard.That said, we took considerable evidence at round-tables, and I think that we were impressed with the sincerity of the professional clinicians who had arrived ...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
PE2099 is one of the most consequential petitions that we have received. The petition, lodged by Lynne McRitchie, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to stop the planned downgrading of established and high-performing specialist neonatal intensive c...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
I am driven to the conclusion that that suggestion is probably correct, but I am totally underwhelmed by the responses that we have received. There is an awful lot of hiding behind smoke and mirrors while this cruel disease continues to blight lives and kill far too many peopl...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
PE2062, lodged by Bill Alexander, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to introduce a national screening programme for prostate cancer. It was last considered on 28 January 2026, when we agreed to write to the First Minister, partly because he had r...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
Fine. In that case, we will keep the petition open and include it in our legacy report for the next session of Parliament.
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
Maurice Golden, are you content?
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
The same view has been widely shared with me by members of all parties across Parliament who have mentioned the petition to me.Mr Russell, are you content?
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
Our first continued petition is a long-standing one. PE1933, which has been lodged by Iris Tinto on behalf of the Fornethy Survivors Group, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to widen access to Scotland’s redress scheme to allow Fornethy survivors...
The Convener Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Continued Petitions
Item 2 is consideration of continued petitions.Anyone following our proceedings will realise that, as this is our last meeting, we will need either to close the petition under consideration or, in a very limited number of cases, to allow the petition to be carried over for the...
The Convener (Jackson Carlaw) Con Committee
11 Mar 2026
Decision on Taking Business in Private
Good morning, and welcome to the sixth meeting in 2026 of the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee. It is also the committee’s final meeting after a very happy five years of this parliamentary session.Agenda item 1 is a decision on taking business in private. A...
Jackson Carlaw (Eastwood) (Con) Con Chamber
25 Feb 2026
Motion of Condolence
I associate myself with and commend the First Minister’s remarks.On behalf of myself and the Conservative Party, I send our deepest condolences to Susan and all of Jeane’s family, friends and colleagues, and her wider party.I am touched that Susan asked me to say a few words t...
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
That concludes our meeting. Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday 11 March. I thank the petitioners and all those who have followed our proceedings.Meeting closed at 11:03.
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
I think that that is the correct course of action. It is a big subject that requires much more exploration than we can give it. Are members content with that?Members indicated agreement.
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
The final petition for our consideration is PE2196, which was lodged by Leanne Kelly on behalf of the root the rot campaign. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to act on early sexual offending in young people and prevent future offending by: ta...
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
Thank you. Are members content to close the petition?Members indicated agreement.
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
PE2188, which was lodged by Clare Sparrow, calls on the Scottish Government to extend the national entitlement card scheme to include ferry travel for people aged 60 and over. The petition was last considered on 26 November, when we agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for...
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
The balanced conclusion is that we should close the petition for the reasons that Mr Torrance outlined. I think that the petitioner is in the gallery. In writing to him and closing the petition, we should highlight that it might be useful to lodge a fresh petition that include...
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
What is the best course of action?
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
We have the option of keeping the petition open, on the basis that the next committee could further explore the issues that it raises, but on the back of the responses that relate to part of the petition, we could instead recommend that a fresh petition be lodged that focuses ...
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
Would that be on the basis that it would be updated to reflect the evidence that we have had so far, rather than having a repeating cycle in relation to that?
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
PE2185, which was lodged by Christopher Simpson, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to amend the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 to ensure that any digital material that is presented in court, such as photos or screenshots, is verifiably so...
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
We will see what happens with it.
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
Do members agree to close the petition?Members indicated agreement.
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
Were it not for the stage that the Parliament is at, we would have held the petition open a little longer to see whether some of that progress was made. It is one of the shortest periods for a petition to be recognised and action initiated. We first considered the issue only i...
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
The next continued petition, PE2178, was lodged by Hazel Margaret McIvor. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to introduce mandatory latex labelling on food products that are sold in Scotland if there is a chance of contamination. I was unaware ...
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
I genuinely think that it would be better to have a fresh petition, but the trouble is that the Government has diminished the terms that are used here. If you want to be pedantic, you can ignore the substance of the petition by hanging around the definition of a particular wor...
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
I think that the Government response is almost a road map of what to avoid saying and what to say instead. If the petitioner lodges a fresh petition, they could navigate around what I thought was a jobsworth’s response as to how you define whether something is fresh or frozen....
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
PE2173, which was lodged by Lauren Houstoun, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to ban the use of ultra-processed food in school meals across Scotland in order to give our children healthier options.We last considered the petition on 8 October 202...
The Convener Con Committee
25 Feb 2026
Continued Petitions
Do colleagues have any comments? Are we content to accept Mr Torrance’s recommendation?Members indicated agreement.
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Chamber

Meeting of the Parliament 24 March 2026 [Draft]

24 Mar 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Animal Welfare (Sentencing and Public Protection)
Carlaw, Jackson Con Eastwood Watch on SPTV

I, too, pay tribute to Rona Mackay—I knew that this was her final speech, and I meant to comment on the fact—because she has been an indefatigable champion of the issue of chronic pain throughout her time as a member. In the absence of my former partners in the transvaginal mesh debate, Alex Neil and Neil Findlay, Rona was one of the ones who stepped forward, and she has been most vocal and supportive on the issues surrounding transvaginal mesh. Rona convenes the cross-party group on chronic pain, and that support and sustained commitment have meant so much to the many people who suffer from the chronic pain ailment, who have looked to her with great gratitude for all the work that she has done during this session of Parliament.

In the same item of business

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur) LD
The next item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-20603, in the name of Christine Grahame, on animal welfare sentencing and public protec...
Christine Grahame (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP) SNP
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer.Well, breaking news: Christine Grahame is at last retiring—some might say not before time—and I am proud that my last deb...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur) LD
For the avoidance of doubt, Ms Scanlon will not be able to make a contribution from the public gallery.11:05
Jackson Carlaw (Eastwood) (Con) Con
Presiding Officer, I am here under false pretences. I understood that that was to be Christine Grahame’s final speech, and yet I now gather that there are to...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur) LD
I was going to call Stuart McMillan, but I cannot see him for the time being, so I call Carol Mochan.11:09
Carol Mochan (South Scotland) (Lab) Lab
I thank Christine Grahame for bringing this important debate to the chamber. I want to speak in the debate for three reasons: first, because it is on a very ...
Joe FitzPatrick (Dundee City West) (SNP) SNP
Made a request to intervene.
Carol Mochan Lab
Of course I will take an intervention.
Joe FitzPatrick SNP
I apologise—I pressed the button inadvertently. However, this is an opportunity to put on record how sorry I will be to not be sitting next to, and sometimes...
Carol Mochan Lab
I see that Joe FitzPatrick has picked up Christine Grahame’s excellent technology skills.Many of the cases that I hear about are from constituents raising co...
Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP) SNP
I am pleased to speak in today’s important debate for many reasons. First, I want to acknowledge the legendary Christine Grahame and her passionate dedicatio...
Maggie Chapman (North East Scotland) (Green) Green
I thank Christine Grahame for lodging the motion and securing the debate; it is a privilege to be able to speak in it. Yes, it is about animal welfare, but i...
Emma Harper (South Scotland) (SNP) SNP
I am really chuffed to speak in support of today’s motion, which recognises the serious harm that is caused by animal cruelty, neglect and illegal breeding. ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur) LD
I call Jim Fairlie to wind up the debate.11:27
The Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity (Jim Fairlie) SNP
Thank you, Presiding Officer. It is an enormous pleasure to respond to what I had thought was going to be the debate in which Christine Grahame made her fina...
Jackson Carlaw Con
I, too, pay tribute to Rona Mackay—I knew that this was her final speech, and I meant to comment on the fact—because she has been an indefatigable champion o...
Jim Fairlie SNP
I offer Rona my very best wishes for what comes next.Before I finish, I want to mention the fact that there are so many powerful women in this Parliament. I ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur) LD
That concludes the debate, although not, I suspect, the contribution of Christine Grahame to public life in Scotland. For now, though, I suspend this meeting...