Committee
Public Petitions Committee 24 March 2021
24 Mar 2021 · S5 · Public Petitions Committee
Item of business
Continued Petitions
Polypropylene Mesh Medical Devices (PE1517)
I am grateful to the committee for allowing me to speak at the final meeting of the session of the Public Petitions Committee. Further to what Jackson Carlaw has just said, I, too, think that the petition should be kept open. The matter is still a work in progress. Many of the matters raised by the petitioners have yet to be resolved, notwithstanding the many fine words that have been spoken on the issue. People can lodge a new petition on the subject by all means. As you know, convener, the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee recently decided that the same petitioner can lodge one further petition while their original petition is open—even if it has been open for eight years, as this one has. The petitioners should also lodge a new petition in the next session if that is required. I want the committee to discuss and investigate the issue of compensation for those who have had to take action for themselves and who have had to borrow money to get operations outwith Scotland—perhaps travelling to England or abroad to America—because, for whatever reason, they were not able to have an operation to remove mesh in Scotland. Lives go on—politicians talk and so do ministers, but we need action on this. These services need to be set up and delivered, sooner rather than later. People cannot wait. That is my point and I thank the convener, Johann Lamont, for allowing me to make it. I am grateful.
In the same item of business
The Convener
Lab
Item 2 is consideration of continued petitions. The first petition, PE1517, which was lodged by Elaine Holmes and Olive McIlroy on behalf of the Scottish Mes...
Jackson Carlaw (Eastwood) (Con)
Con
Thank you, convener, for your engagement with the petition in the course of this parliamentary session. As this is the final day of the session, the final me...
John Scott (Ayr) (Con)
Con
I am grateful to the committee for allowing me to speak at the final meeting of the session of the Public Petitions Committee. Further to what Jackson Carla...
Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
The work of the Public Petitions Committee has been hugely important and influential during the past eight years and I plead with the committee not to close ...
The Convener
Lab
I thank all three of you, who will I am sure be living in happy coexistence post-election. For my part, I think that the petition is a huge issue. There are...
Gail Ross (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP)
SNP
I thank our family of campaigners, some of whom have joined us today, for all their work. I include Alex Neil in that as well. In relation to everything tha...
Maurice Corry (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
I thank the petitioners for keeping going with this long-standing petition. It is immensely important that we get it resolved as soon as possible. John Scott...
David Torrance (Kirkcaldy) (SNP)
SNP
As someone who was on the Public Petitions Committee in the previous parliamentary session when the petition was first submitted, I thought that progress wou...
Tom Mason (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
I agree with pretty much everything that has been said. These ladies have been let down for so long, and it is so important that we maintain the momentum to ...
The Convener
Lab
Does any of our visiting colleagues wish to add anything?
John Scott
Con
I am sorry; I do not appear to be able to make the chat function work. I agree with members that the petition should be passed to the next health committee....
Neil Findlay
Lab
I thank everyone for their helpful comments. It is of course up to this committee to request that the next health committee takes on the petition and carries...
Gail Ross
SNP
On Neil Findlay’s point, I had not really thought about that possibility previously. We would need to get advice but, if the petition goes from here to anoth...
The Convener
Lab
We are getting a wee bit ahead of ourselves. All petitions come back to the Public Petitions Committee ahead of the end of a session. We get reports back fro...
The Convener
Lab
I again thank our visiting MSPs. It has been an absolute privilege for me as a committee convener to welcome you to so many meetings. The work of the Public ...