Committee
Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee 03 February 2022
03 Feb 2022 · S6 · Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee
Item of business
Cross-Party Groups
I thank committee members for their time. I am sorry that I did not realise that I could have attended in person—I thought that everything was being done through BlueJeans. The purpose of the cross-party group on Bangladesh is to promote and enhance understanding between Scotland and Bangladesh at a cultural, social, political and economic level. Our intention is to develop contact with the Bangladesh Parliament and other institutions, including the Bangladesh consulate in Edinburgh and the embassy in London, to progress such dialogue. The group will also advance the mutual interests of Scotland and Bangladesh by representing the interests of citizen organisations with a Bangladeshi background in Scotland and acting as a forum for the Bangladeshi community. In the Bangladeshi community, there is a keen interest to know about the Scottish Parliament’s procedures, be part of Scottish democracy and learn what could be used for future elections in Bangladesh. We will do that along with our friends in Westminster. With the all-party parliamentary group on Bangladesh, we will work on research and develop a work plan for the growing Bangladeshi community in Scotland. The CPG would be a new group focused on Bangladesh and would not overlap with any current CPGs. The topics that were discussed at our initial meeting and that will form our work plan include investment, trade, tourism, travel, the environment and education. We want to build on the momentum that we have from the 26th UN climate change conference of the parties—COP26—when we made history by having the Bangladeshi Prime Minister in Parliament. We heard about the challenges that the country faces with the threat of climate change. COP26 has shown that we can deliver genuine changes only if we are united. I know that the United Kingdom, Scotland and Bangladesh will work shoulder to shoulder to tackle climate change. Thank you for listening to me.
In the same item of business
The Convener (Martin Whitfield)
Lab
Good morning, and welcome to the fourth meeting in 2022 of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee. Agenda item 1 is consideration of ap...
Paul O’Kane (West Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
Good morning, committee. I propose the formation of a cross-party group on changing places toilets, the purpose of which is to raise awareness of the essenti...
The Convener
Lab
Thank you very much. Do members have any questions?
Sue Webber (Lothian) (Con)
Con
At the moment, local authorities are having to close many of their public toilets as a result of cost challenges. Indeed, that is a significant issue in the ...
Paul O’Kane
Lab
Thank you for that question. It is a vital issue, and the CPG will want to look at the availability of facilities, because we know that families, particularl...
Collette Stevenson (East Kilbride) (SNP)
SNP
After reading the papers, I did a bit of homework on the changing places facilities in my East Kilbride constituency, and I was quite alarmed to find that th...
Paul O’Kane
Lab
Thank you for the question and for raising that vital issue. We had previously engaged with Euan’s Guide, which provides a lot of information on accessible f...
Collette Stevenson
SNP
Are the criteria for changing places toilets quite robust? How difficult or easy is it to get a changing places toilet recognised?
Paul O’Kane
Lab
For many years, the problem has been that people have had disabled facilities or a certain level of facility that they would view as a changing places toilet...
The Convener
Lab
I call Bob Doris, who joins us remotely today. Over to you, Bob.
Bob Doris (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) (SNP)
SNP
I thank Paul O’Kane for bringing this cross-party group application to this morning’s meeting. I have been following the conversation and have read the paper...
Paul O’Kane
Lab
I thank Mr Doris for that very important question. I certainly think that the CPG would be keen to engage in that sort of thing. I believe that Sainsbury’s i...
The Convener
Lab
I notice that Angela Dulley, who is a well-known campaigner on the matter, has offered to provide the secretarial support for the group. Thank you for comin...
Paul O’Kane
Lab
I thank you and your colleagues on the committee.
The Convener
Lab
The next application that we will consider is for a proposed CPG on Bangladesh. I welcome Foysol Choudhury, who is the convener of the proposed group. He joi...
Foysol Choudhury (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
I thank committee members for their time. I am sorry that I did not realise that I could have attended in person—I thought that everything was being done thr...
The Convener
Lab
Thank you, Foysol. It was a great pleasure to welcome the Bangladeshi Prime Minister to the Parliament during COP26. You mentioned connections with the APPG...
Foysol Choudhury
Lab
Yes, of course. We just want to share the APPG’s ideas, find out how it does things and gain information. Our CPG is mainly based on the community in Scotland.
The Convener
Lab
The list of organisations to which the proposed CPG has reached out and that want to be involved is testament to the importance of the Bangladeshi community ...
Foysol Choudhury
Lab
Thank you very much, convener and committee members. I hope to see you soon.
The Convener
Lab
The next proposed CPG is on migration. I welcome to the meeting Paul Sweeney MSP, who is the proposed convener of the new group. Would you like to make an op...
Paul Sweeney (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
Thank you very much for inviting me to address the committee, convener. The proposed cross-party group on migration would be quite a wide-ranging forum in w...
The Convener
Lab
Thank you very much. Do committee members have any questions about the proposed CPG?
Tess White (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
What are your key measures of success, Mr Sweeney?
Paul Sweeney
Lab
The key measure of success is effectively expediting policy ideas that key stakeholder groups, particularly in Glasgow, have been advocating. Almost all asyl...
Tess White
Con
I want to ask about any overlaps with the work of the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee. Is it the intention that the CPG would identify i...
Paul Sweeney
Lab
That has not been explicitly discussed thus far, but that is a helpful suggestion. I can envisage that potentially being a measure. There would be efforts to...
Bob Doris
SNP
I thank Paul Sweeney for bringing his proposals for a cross-party group to the committee. I should declare an interest: it was a pleasure to go to the first ...
The Convener
Lab
Thank you for indicating your interest in the matter. Although it is not a formal requirement under the rules, I am sure that you will take part in the usual...
Collette Stevenson
SNP
I very much welcome the proposed CPG. Recently, several issues have arisen in East Kilbride relating to accommodation and whether people have the status of a...