Committee
Public Petitions Committee 08 March 2016
08 Mar 2016 · S4 · Public Petitions Committee
Item of business
Continued Petitions
Youth Football (PE1319)
I had meetings at Hampden Park with the SFA and the SPFL. Some encouraging things are happening in Scottish football. For example, fans’ involvement in the role of Hibs and Hearts in widening the involvement in the franchise is encouraging, but that is at the senior level. The need for an evidence base was reiterated at the meeting at Hampden. I think that that evidence has been produced but having a round-table discussion and certainly continuing the petition with that information and with the involvement of parents would be good. Parents have come to me with problems that they were having with the major clubs in Scotland and the impact that it was having on their children’s education. There is the binding “contract” in relation to how the parents have signed up children to be involved and they are tied very much to one specific club, hence the issue that we raised about transfer fees. I would be encouraged if the petition were to carry on as part of the legacy paper and if a round-table discussion was held, certainly with more evidence than we had the first time. Perhaps the committee could bring in parents who would be willing to comment on their experience of what happens.
In the same item of business
The Convener
Lab
The first item of business is consideration of continued petitions, the first of which is PE1319, by William Smith and Scott Robertson, on improving youth fo...
Chic Brodie (South Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
Thank you for allowing me to attend and to speak on the petition. Before I do so, I would like to comment briefly on the letter from the Scottish Professiona...
The Convener
Lab
Thank you for an interesting speech, Chic. Do members have any comments?
Angus MacDonald (Falkirk East) (SNP)
SNP
Thanks to the petitioner, the SFA and the SPFL have taken the issues concerning youth football reasonably seriously. The petitioner has stated that the petit...
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind)
Ind
Unlike Angus MacDonald, I do not think that we should close the petition, although I agree that we should write to the Scottish Government to seek its views ...
The Convener
Lab
I am also minded to keep the petition open and include it in our legacy paper. The SFA and the SPFL are entities in their own right and like any other commer...
John Wilson
Ind
Convener, Mr Brodie will be able to testify that the SFA and SPFL resisted the first attempt to get them to a meeting of the Public Petitions Committee. They...
Chic Brodie
SNP
I had meetings at Hampden Park with the SFA and the SPFL. Some encouraging things are happening in Scottish football. For example, fans’ involvement in the r...
The Convener
Lab
It would be for the next committee to determine what to do but we can certainly suggest that it considers such an action if we keep the petition open. I take...
Angus MacDonald
SNP
If the general consensus of members is to keep the petition open and to include it in the legacy paper, I am content with that, so long as John Wilson’s sugg...
Jackson Carlaw (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
I reluctantly concur with the consensus to keep the petition open. It has been going since 2010 and I am not sure that we will make any significant further p...
The Convener
Lab
That is a fair enough point to make. I think that there is a consensus that we will try to keep the petition open and try to pursue it a bit further. I thank...
Chic Brodie
SNP
Thank you for allowing me to speak, convener.