Committee
Public Petitions Committee 24 March 2021
24 Mar 2021 · S5 · Public Petitions Committee
Item of business
Continued Petitions
Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal (PE1651)
Yes, convener. I know when not to flog a dead horse, but let me make a couple of observations that the committee might want to raise with the Scottish Government, either now or in future. It has taken four years for a short-life working group to report. I hope that the Government will consult quickly on the recommendations and will actually start to change things, because there is no doubt that a huge number of people are already dependent on antidepressants. As you rightly pointed out, convener, as we emerge from the pandemic, the scale of the problem will only increase, and people’s mental health will become a key consideration. I am grateful to the committee and I have no doubt that the petition might come back in the new session.
In the same item of business
The Convener
Lab
The next continued petition is PE1651, which was lodged by Marion Brown on behalf of Recovery and Renewal. The petition calls on the Scottish Government to t...
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Lab
I thank the convener and the committee for allowing me to speak. As someone who has previously attended meetings of the committee, I was definitely not going...
The Convener
Lab
I thank Jackie Baillie for her kind words. It is always useful to start nicely if you are going to make a case for a petition to be continued. I will be inte...
David Torrance
SNP
I thank the petitioner Marion Brown for bringing the petition to the committee. Progress has been made on it—not everything that the petitioner wants, but th...
Tom Mason
Con
It is a difficult one, but on balance I go with your thoughts, convener. We have achieved quite a bit with the petition. A consultation is going on and the p...
Gail Ross
SNP
I concur with what has been said. The right thing to do is to let the consultation run its course. The petitioners and anyone else who has been following the...
Maurice Corry
Con
I, too, know Marion Brown from my work as a regional MSP—I have had several meetings with her. I understand Jackie Baillie’s point of view, and I know that s...
The Convener
Lab
I am not sure whether Jackie Baillie wants to come back in, but there is a clear consensus on action. Is there anything that you want to flag up to us, Jackie?
Jackie Baillie
Lab
Yes, convener. I know when not to flog a dead horse, but let me make a couple of observations that the committee might want to raise with the Scottish Govern...
The Convener
Lab
We recognise your comment about how long it has taken to get to this point. Clearly, for people who are in the middle of the system and who feel that folk ar...