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Meeting of the Parliament 23 February 2011

23 Feb 2011 · S3 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Public Petitions Committee

Craigie, Cathie Lab Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Watch on SPTV

Like other members, I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate on the importance and uniqueness of our Parliament’s petitions system.

I am proud that our Parliament is built not only on the principles of accountability and transparency but on an openness that is not widely experienced in Parliaments and Assemblies around the world. This is the people’s Parliament, and it was established to stand up for Scotland.

Since 1999, our Parliament has welcomed petitions from far and wide, and the Public Petitions Committee has scrutinised the views of thousands of people who have advocated a change in the law or policy either by creating a petition or by adding their name to one. I always feel a sense of pride when I listen to petitioners’ views and note their concerns about Government action—or inaction. Listening to members of the public speaking passionately often drives home the links between our Parliament and the people. As one petitioner famously—and rightly—said, the petitions system is “democracy in action”.

Of course, not all petitions make it through the parliamentary process and on to the statute books—indeed, that does not need to happen in every case. However, perhaps the greatest piece of legislation that was passed by the Parliament—the smoking ban—was helped on its way by a petition. In 2002, the pupils of Firrhill high school in Edinburgh came before the Public Petitions Committee. Although their petition had only 105 signatures, it was supported by parents, grandparents, siblings and friends, and it helped to bring about legislation that will improve the lives of people throughout Scotland. That shows that great outcomes can be achieved, and we will certainly reap the benefits of that action in years to come.

As we have heard, petitions have, over the Parliament’s three sessions, helped to raise awareness, to bring out issues that the Government has not brought to the fore on its own agenda and to encourage the Government and other public organisations to take such issues on board. In 2006, I supported Woodlands primary school in my constituency, which submitted a petition that sought to change the law to protect the public, birds and animals from broken glass, to promote the use of plastic bottles as an alternative and to introduce a refundable deposit scheme aimed at reducing the amount of broken glass in public places. It was a thoroughly worthwhile endeavour for those school pupils, and was prompted not by members of the teaching staff or the MSPs who visited the school but by individual young people who had noticed the amount of broken glass—usually from bottles containing alcohol—that they had to face on their way to school and the dangers that it posed for them.

The petition, which was taken up by the Public Petitions Committee, ran for three years and was closed in 2009. It was a great example of young people taking the initiative and informing us of a problem that needed to be addressed by Government. Although it has not led to any changes, it has certainly raised awareness of the problem. People in the drinks industry are examining the issue and I hope that Governments will keep on their back about it.

The system does not always get the results that the petitioner desires, but the fact that people have the chance to submit a petition, even with only one signature, says a great deal about this Parliament, about the interest that members take in issues and about our relationship with the people whom we seek to represent. Long may that continue.

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