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Meeting of the Parliament 23 February 2011

23 Feb 2011 · S3 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Public Petitions Committee

Harper, Robin Green Lothians Watch on SPTV

In the first session of Parliament, I was on the Transport and the Environment Committee, in which we were concerned with making legislation. I was on the Audit Committee after that, in which we asked the questions. In the past four years, I have been on the Public Petitions Committee, which is the listening ear of the Parliament. As many other members have said, the committee has done a superb job of being the listening part of the Parliament, although all the other committees of the Parliament listen too. The way in which we have worked in the past 12 years demonstrates that there is probably greater access to this democratic organisation than there is to any other.

The committee is an example and encourages young people to have faith in our democratic system. The old-style school council involved a group of children getting together with the headteacher sitting in front of them listening to their complaints but, a year later, nothing had happened. Of course, school councils nowadays are very different, and the Government has issued good guidance to all local authorities. For young people who bring petitions through the parliamentary process, the experience is different, because they are listened to and something is done. In some cases, that might well mean simply that conversations continue.

As Bill Butler did not have time to say much about young Ryan McLaughlin, I will get some comments about him on the record. He organised a parade down the Royal Mile in support of his petition on vitamin D. As a result of that petition, the Scottish Government listened and agreed to have a co-ordinated programme of action with NHS Health Scotland, to produce guidance on vitamin D, to educate women on its importance, to consider different messages for different groups of people, and to ensure that health professionals give correct and consistent advice on vitamin D to pregnant women and new mothers. Further, the Scottish Government committed to keeping the petitioner informed of progress. All that happened as a result of a petition from a young man who was still at school. I am sure that all members who met Ryan McLaughlin believe that he will continue to contribute to life in Scotland.

We had many petitions from young people, but a second one that I would like to mention was on the subject of fair trade chocolate in schools. That immediately resulted in the Scottish Government issuing a clarification to all councils in Scotland stating that they could sell fair trade chocolate, even though it is a sweet and does not necessarily promote the best of health.

I am proud to have served on the Public Petitions Committee and grateful to have had that opportunity. One of the many reasons for that is that it has been a wonderful committee to work on because of the sense of working with other people. Politics is very much left behind at the door in the committee. I have not heard any member being political with a capital P, perhaps apart from myself, when I have had to mention interests when environmental issues have arisen. We all have a sense of real achievement.

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