Hansard

Thank you. We hope that, because the issue has been aired and commented on in the committee, it has been heard publicly. If there were a request for it, the committee would be willing to make a statement that it recognises that this is a matter of urgency and that none of the options that are open to the committee respond to that urgency. The committee’s fundamental problem is that it cannot respond because of where we are in the parliamentary cycle. 11:00 We agree that what the petitioners ask for is not warm words, but more action. The Public Petitions Committee cannot deliver that action, but we are clear that we cannot be in a position in which we continue to see a huge gap between people’s experience and what the guidance says. The matter is being looked at closely every week and, although we do not need to tell the petitioners what to do, since they have run such an effective campaign and they will do this anyway, we could highlight as a matter of urgency that they should keep the pressure up on those who make the decisions while the election process goes on. Pressure also needs to be put on individual candidates and parties to make a commitment and understand that the matter cannot wait, because of the direct consequences in real time. We agree to close the petition with all the reservations about why we had to make that decision. However, I have indicated that we will want to write to thank the petitioners, to say that we wish that they did not have to be in that position and that we hope that matters are resolved urgently. It is my great hope that they will partly be resolved by the fact that, with any luck, we are moving into a safer world than we have been in for the past year. I thank Jackie Baillie for her attendance—she was the equivalent of the fifth Beatle. I am appreciative of all the work that she has done in helping to inform the work of the Public Petitions Committee. This is the last Public Petitions Committee meeting of the session, my last Public Petitions Committee meeting and my last time as a convener or member of a parliamentary committee. I want to underline my personal gratitude for the opportunity to serve. Whatever has happened in recent days, the beating heart of the Parliament has to be the committee process, because it brings people together. People can breach the walls of the Parliament, and if we are not doing that in committee, we are not doing the right thing. It has been a particular privilege for me to convene the Public Petitions Committee because it is the only committee in the Parliament where the agenda is entirely determined by members of the public. I stand in awe of all the petitioners. They have brought to us issues that they care about, which they would much rather not have had to petition on, because they represent personal trauma and sadness. All petitioners have displayed great courage, determination, persistence and focus, all of which have informed the work of the Public Petitions Committee over the session. It has been a privilege to be able to be a part of that. Whatever legacy paper we write, we will want to underline the importance of the Public Petitions Committee attempting to be as responsive and open as possible to the people of Scotland, to ensure that their issues are heard as they might not be heard anywhere else. I thank my fellow committee members. It has been a particular challenge in the recent period during which meetings have been virtual. Who knew that wi-fi matters so much when you are trying to make a political decision? I am appreciative of all the work of all committee members I have dealt with in the past, but the particular group of members that we have had over the past year has been wonderful to work with. I offer Gail Ross and Tom Mason every good wish as they depart, along with me, into whatever the world brings next. It has been a great privilege to work with you. I wish Maurice Corry and David Torrance all the best in the elections. You understand that that does not necessarily mean that I wish you electoral success, but I know that if you are returned you will bring the same energy as you have done in this committee. I thank the broadcasting team, who have managed to pull us together—it has been like herding cats. It has done a great job of making meetings a professional process, even though we are all in different places. Finally, I thank the clerks, who do immense amounts of work not only to make the committee meetings work and keep us informed in a way that means that we understand and appreciate the key issues, but to engage with petitioners. That engagement with petitioners about the issues that matter to them, and bringing them into a process in such a way that they can participate really well, is the most fundamental thing of all. Most of that work is hidden, but that does not make it any less difficult or challenging. Many petitioners have told me that the clerks have dealt with them sensitively, and the importance of the clerks’ professionalism to the effectiveness of the committee has been beyond measure over the last period.