Hansard

The Convener Lab

The fourth item on the agenda today is consideration of PE1499 by Robert Watson on creating suitable respite facilities to support younger disabled adults wi...

Rhoda Grant Lab

Can we ask for the petitioner’s opinion on what has been suggested and on the on-going work? We are obviously coming to the end of the parliamentary session,...

The Convener Lab

Are you suggesting that we get the petitioner’s views now about the pilot programme?

Rhoda Grant Lab

Yes—and about what he thinks might need to be added to it. I know that respite for young people—rather than for children, I think—is a real issue not only in...

The Convener Lab

We can do that. We have written to the petitioner to outline our position. What response did we get?

Jane Williams (Clerk)

The committee has just told the petitioner that the committee’s work is under way.

Rhoda Grant Lab

It would be good to get the petitioner’s views, feed them in and then close the petition, or close the petition, get his views and feed them in, if that is a...

The Convener Lab

If the committee feels that we should, we can tell the petitioner what we are likely to do and ask whether he has any views on the pilot. We can then bring t...

Dennis Robertson (Aberdeenshire West) (SNP) SNP

The work that is under way now should be given time to bed in and to resolve the situation. If the petitioner wishes to monitor the progress of that work, he...

Fiona McLeod (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP) SNP

If I recall correctly what was said, last week when I asked the cabinet secretary and her officials about the on-going work that the Government is doing with...

Malcolm Chisholm Lab

I am interested in the petitioner’s comment that “The danger may be that ‘respite care’ is lost in this focus—and that is the primary objective of my petiti...

Fiona McLeod SNP

My recollection of the evidence that we heard from the cabinet secretary and officials last week is that it was also about respite care, and they gave us tim...

Rhoda Grant Lab

I want to make the point that children’s hospice care is very different from adult hospice care. Children’s hospice care is about respite, and the fact is th...

The Convener Lab

We agreed that we would deal with this petition as we took evidence on palliative and end-of-life care, Rhoda, but you seem to be suggesting something differ...

Rhoda Grant Lab

The issue is not lifelong conditions; it is life-limiting conditions. We have, because of advances in medicine, children with conditions that would not, in t...

Nanette Milne Con

I agree with Rhoda Grant. I first heard about the on-going situation with CHAS at the cross-party group on muscular dystrophy, which was attended by people f...

The Convener Lab

The petition has come to us and we have progressed it. We have communicated with the petitioner and let them know what we are doing. I am focusing on how we ...

Mike MacKenzie SNP

I agree absolutely with what you are saying, convener, and I was greatly reassured by what the cabinet secretary said. I wonder whether it would help, given ...

The Convener Lab

The committee has done a good job on this.

Nanette Milne Con

We should close the petition. There is no point in keeping it open, because we have done everything that was asked of us. I quite like Mike MacKenzie’s sugge...

Richard Lyle (Central Scotland) (SNP) SNP

Agreed.

The Convener Lab

Does that help?

Rhoda Grant Lab

Yes. If the petitioner wants to submit comments to the Scottish Government, they can do so.

The Convener Lab

Or to the committee. As was agreed at our previous meeting, we now move into private session. 10:23 Meeting continued in private until 11:23.