Committee
Equal Opportunities Committee 25 February 2016
25 Feb 2016 · S4 · Equal Opportunities Committee
Item of business
Petition
Access to Justice (Environment) (PE1372)
The petition has been about for a long time. I have been on this committee since its inception and I think that it was discussed at one of the early meetings, if not the very first meeting. We have more information now but what we have not lost are the concerns of Friends of the Earth, which I share. I am grateful for the detailed letter it sent on 22 February, which highlights a couple of issues: the time restraints that are placed on applications for protective expenses orders and also for judicial review; and the view that legal action remains prohibitively expensive for most individuals, communities and non-governmental organisations—a view that many would share, not just those concerned about environmental matters. Also, we do not have the costs for community groups and NGOs, because they are not eligible for legal aid. Very belatedly, with a matter of weeks to go before the election, the Scottish Government has announced that it will consult on the issue. For that reason, I think that the committee should keep the petition open and include it in the legacy paper. Friends of the Earth’s view that the committee launches its own inquiry into whether Scotland complies is appropriate for discussion, but it is a decision for another day.
In the same item of business
The Convener
Lab
At agenda item 2 we will consider petition PE1372. When we considered the petition last year, we requested information from the Scottish Legal Aid Board and ...
John Finnie (Highlands and Islands) (Ind)
Ind
The petition has been about for a long time. I have been on this committee since its inception and I think that it was discussed at one of the early meetings...
Christian Allard (North East Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
I differ a little bit with John Finnie’s tone, although I agree about what should happen. The reason I differ a little bit with the tone is that we talked ab...
John Finnie
Ind
I think that that remains to be seen. Certainly there is an open case for the United Kingdom, and Scotland has a separate legal system—although that is highl...
Annabel Goldie (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
I have a technical question. What is the status of a petition at the end of a parliamentary session? Does the petition remain alive or does it fall?
Ruth McGill (Clerk)
The standing orders are silent on the position of petitions at this point so it is open to interpretation. The latest advice is that both options are open to...
Annabel Goldie
Con
I infer from what the clerk has helpfully advised that to not actively keep the petition open would perhaps by default allow it to fall. That would be unf...
Sandra White (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP)
SNP
Everything that I was going to say has been said, and I think that we have a consensus here. In a previous life, I was on the Justice Committee when the peti...
The Convener
Lab
The minister said in his letter to the committee: “I stated on 1 December that the Scottish Government will, before the end of this Parliamentary term in 20...
John Finnie
Ind
I understand that the minister answered an oral question on the options paper the other day and that the paper is imminent, so I think that we could just inc...
The Convener
Lab
Are members happy to include the petition in our legacy paper? Members indicated agreement.