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Showing 60 of 2,354,908 contributions. Latest 30 days: 0. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 25 Mar 2026.
The Convener: Lab Committee
11 Sep 2001
Current Petitions
The final part of this item is the summary of progress of petitions since the last time the committee met. If there are any questions about the summary, they can be raised with the clerks later.You will remember PE217 from Glenorchy and Innishail Community Council about their ...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Chamber
07 Mar 2001
Regulation of Care (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I begin by giving a special warm welcome to the announcement that Dundee is to be the location for the new headquarters for the commission and the council. The Minister for Health and Community Care's judgment in arriving at that decision was absolutely flawless. If I have any...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Chamber
10 Oct 2002
Organic Waste Disposal
The story of this petition highlights both the strengths and the weaknesses of the Parliament's petitions system and indeed of the new democracy that we are trying to build in Scotland.First, I will speak about the strengths, which George Reid referred to in his speech. Two sm...
Mr McAllion: Lab Chamber
16 May 2002
Health and Community Care
Absolutely. I agree that there is a problem. I am always suspicious of politicians talking about balance, because that is usually in their favour and against everybody else. We need a debate before we decide that the structure that ministers have set up is the appropriate one ...
The Convener: Lab Committee
19 Dec 2000
New Petitions
Petition PE314, from Councillor Alan D Grant on behalf of the Meigle community day hospital liaison committee, calls on the Parliament to investigate Tayside Health Board's decision to close Meigle community day hospital and to transfer its services to Blairgowrie community ho...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Chamber
20 Jun 2002
School Meals (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
There have been many fine speeches in this debate. I was delighted that Elaine Smith was called during the debate, because it means that there is at least one Labour speaker with whom I can agree in this wind-up speech. Despite the many fine contributions to the debate, the de...
The Convener: Lab Committee
23 Apr 2002
Current Petitions
Petition PE453 is from Father Stephen Dunn, on the secure unit in the Greater Glasgow NHS Board area. The committee has dealt with the petition for a considerable time. It revolves around the petitioner's continuing concern about the scoring groups that were used to secure the...
The Convener: Lab Committee
11 Sep 2001
Current Petitions
The next petition is PE367 from Mr Eric Drummond, on services for the diagnosis and treatment of those who suffer from sleep apnoea. We agreed to copy the petition to the Scottish Executive, Greater Glasgow Health Board and Lothian Health and we have received responses from th...
The Convener: Lab Committee
15 Jan 2002
Current Petitions
We will try to get through the remaining petitions as quickly as possible. The first item is a response from the Health and Community Care Committee to PE349, on cancer cases in East Lothian. We asked various organisations, including the Executive, East Lothian Council, Lothia...
The Convener: Lab Committee
06 Jun 2002
New Petitions
Thank you very much. That was valuable information. I hope that the committee has acknowledged it. You are welcome to listen to the committee's discussion of what it wants to do with the petition.The suggested action is not what the petitioners have asked for, which is that we...
The Convener: Lab Committee
07 May 2002
New Petitions
Thank you for your contribution. You are free to listen to the discussion about what to do with the petitions. Both petitions have a common concern and are asking the Minister for Health and Community Care to take into account the large number of people in Fife who are opposed...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Committee
04 Feb 2003
Mental Health (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
The effect of amendment 636 would be to give a right of access to independent advocacy to every person with a mental disorder. We received numerous written submissions on this issue during stage 1, as well as significant oral evidence. As a result of considering that evidence,...
The Convener: Lab Committee
11 Sep 2001
Current Petitions
Absolutely.We will leave it to the justice committees to arrive at conclusions, but we will refer the petition to them, draw Phil Gallie's comments to their attention, and ask the justice committees to consider them as part of their review of the Executive's proposals.The next...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Chamber
04 Dec 2002
Public-private Partnerships
Tom McCabe in his introduction described PPPs as controversial; he did so, I have to say, not without an element of dark humour. I refer to the £43 million waste-to-energy plant in Dundee, which is listed in the committee's report and which has not been without its problems si...
The Convener: Lab Committee
15 Jan 2002
Current Petitions
Bristow Muldoon has arrived to talk to PE428, on Binny House, so we will deal with that next. An additional paper came in this morning from Sue Ryder Care, which has been circulated to committee members. I appreciate that members will not have had a chance to read it. It is a ...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Committee
21 Jan 2003
Mental Health (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I am particularly concerned about this matter. It was clearly the intention of the Millan committee that compulsory treatment orders should be limited in their application. Millan said that it was impossible to forecast the precise number of people who might be subject to such...
Mr McAllion: Lab Committee
11 Sep 2002
GM Crops
I congratulate Nicola Sturgeon on her report and I think that it reaches the right conclusions. We are the Health and Community Care Committee and therefore have a unique role in relation to the issue. That role has been recognised by the other committees in the Parliament. I ...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Chamber
16 Mar 2000
Health Boards and NHS Trusts (Public Consultation)
On a positive note, I thank Margaret Smith for her kind words about the Public Petitions Committee. As the convener of that committee, I am happy to bask in the glory of her comments. I happen to think that it is the best wee committee in the Parliament because it has no agend...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Committee
22 May 2002
Petitions
Like the Health and Community Care Committee, the Public Petitions Committee views the location of the secure unit as a matter for Greater Glasgow NHS Board in which we should not intervene. However, a number of MSPs, led by Paul Martin, have complained that the second scoring...
The Convener: Lab Committee
23 Apr 2002
Current Petitions
The committee has consistently taken the view that we should not get involved in the executive decisions of other bodies. PE48, on Stobhill, was submitted a long time ago. The Health and Community Care Committee dealt with that petition and laid out recommendations on the cons...
Mr McAllion: Lab Chamber
10 Oct 2002
Organic Waste Disposal
Another great irony about the situation is that two members of the Health and Community Care Committee sit on the Public Petitions Committee. Unlike other parliamentary committees, the Public Petitions Committee does not have such a heavy work load. Our only concern is the pet...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Chamber
11 Dec 2002
Mental Health (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
The minister promised that Mary Mulligan would sweep up at the end of the debate and deal with any points that he did not have time to cover in his 20 minutes. I ask for clarification of his promise to lodge amendments at stage 2 in relation to the 10 Millan principles. The mi...
The Convener: Lab Committee
18 Dec 2001
Current Petitions
The first current petition is PE367 from Eric Drummond, which is to do with services for the diagnosis and treatment of those suffering from sleep apnoea. At our meeting in May, we agreed to copy the petition to the Executive, Greater Glasgow Health Board and Lothian Health fo...
Mr McAllion: Lab Committee
17 Apr 2002
Budget Process 2003-04
The graphs and tables on pages 109 and 110 of the budget document show that spending on acute services accounts for more than half of all spending on all care programmes and that that is set to increase. At the same time, the Executive's policy is to get more people out of the...
The Convener: Lab Committee
27 Feb 2001
Current Petitions
The next petition, PE318, from Bob and Vera Scotland, which has more than 10,000 signatures, calls on the Parliament to take the opportunity presented by the publication of the Scottish health plan to allocate new funds for the improvement of mental health services, particular...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Chamber
25 Apr 2002
Primary Health Care
The motion, which is in the name of the Minister for Health and Community Care, links further investment in primary care to further reform. When I see the words "investment" and "reform" linked in these new Labour times, my internal alarm bells ring. That is mainly because tho...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Committee
11 Sep 2002
Petitions
I will explain the thinking behind the Public Petitions Committee's decision to refer petition PE474 to the Health and Community Care Committee. When the Public Petitions Committee received the petition, it approached the Executive for a response. That response is included in ...
The Convener: Lab Committee
24 Oct 2000
Current Petitions
The next petition is PE214, from Mrs Anne Dundas, on behalf of various patients—and their friends and relatives—of the Scottish cardiac transplant unit. The petition calls for the Parliament to investigate the current recruitment crisis in the cardiac transplant unit at Glasgo...
The Convener: Lab Committee
21 May 2002
Community Volunteers (PE447)
PE447 was lodged by Mr Gregor McIntyre. Members may remember that the petition concerns local community volunteers. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to take the necessary steps to put in place across Scotland all necessary structures and regulations to ensure that...
The Convener: Lab Committee
18 Mar 2003
New Petitions
Thank you very much for your moving testimony. You are free to stay and listen to our discussion of how to proceed with the petition.As committee members will see, the recommendation is straightforward enough. It is suggested that we refer the petition to the Health and Commun...
Mr McAllion: Lab Committee
22 May 2002
Petitions
Yes. Normally we try to get a response from the Executive before deciding what to do with a petition. However, the Health and Community Care Committee has just decided to take evidence on PE48 and PE453. Petitions PE498 and PE499 are on a similar matter in which there is massi...
The Convener: Lab Committee
26 Sep 2000
Current Petitions
We move to the additional papers that have been given to members, which are petitions that have been before the committee previously. The first is petition PE148 from William Brian Anderson on behalf of the Organophosphate Information Network. The petition calls on the Scottis...
The Convener: Lab Committee
23 Apr 2002
Current Petitions
Would it be possible for us to write to the Health and Community Care Committee to ask whether it wishes to take up the health implications of the petition? We could mention the fact that the Justice 2 Committee is not interested in doing so. We should write such a letter in o...
The Convener: Lab Committee
24 Sep 2002
Current Petitions
PE498 was lodged by Ms Letitia Murphy and deals with Fife NHS Board's plans to centralise services, with health board membership and with fire safety issues in hospitals. Although we did not formally refer the petition to the Health and Community Care Committee, that committee...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Chamber
13 Jun 2002
Epilepsy
I also congratulate Gordon Jackson on securing the debate and echo his tribute to Margaret Ewing. Like Fergus Ewing, I look forward to her early return to her parliamentary duties. She is one of the few members—if not the only member—who is genuinely liked on every side of the...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Chamber
14 Nov 2001
Mental Health Law
In the spirit of consensus that is prevailing today, I will begin by welcoming all the speeches that have been made during the debate. In particular, I want to mention the very moving contribution that was made by David Davidson. I also want to mention the warm and kind words ...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Committee
03 Oct 2001
Subordinate Legislation
I would like to talk about a policy issue, although I probably should have raised objections before. I am concerned about the conditions for being disqualified from membership of health boards—I think that the issue is covered by the second negative instrument, the Health Boar...
The Convener: Lab Committee
25 Apr 2000
New Petitions
I thought that we were becoming very popular all of a sudden. You are welcome.There are four related petitions—three from Mr Frank Harvey and one from Mr J McNeil, on behalf of Partick community council—about Greater Glasgow Health Board's proposals for the reconfiguration and...
The Convener: Lab Committee
23 Oct 2001
Current Petitions
PE349, on cancer cases in East Lothian, is from Mr Thomas Stevenson. Members will recall that we agreed to pass the petition to a series of organisations for their responses. We have now received responses from British Energy, East Lothian Council, the National Radiological Pr...
The Convener: Lab Committee
19 Nov 2002
Current Petitions
This petition is one for Dorothy-Grace Elder. It is from the Blairingone and Saline Action Group on the current practice of spreading sewage, sludge and other non-agriculturally derived waste on land in Scotland. The petition was discussed briefly at the last committee meeting...
Mr McAllion: Lab Committee
02 Oct 2001
Consultative Steering Group Principles
I think so. The report that is being published this morning by the Health and Community Care Committee is an instance of that. There is more time for subject committees to deal with petitions that get through to them, because the petitions are fewer in number. The Health and C...
The Convener: Lab Committee
12 Mar 2002
Current Petitions
It is suggested that we cannot interfere in executive decisions of Greater Glasgow NHS Board—those are its responsibility and not the Parliament's. However, we could consider the petition as a test of the recommendations for improved consultation by health boards that were mad...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Chamber
05 Mar 2003
Food Supplements<br />(European Directive)
I, too, congratulate Margo MacDonald not just on being a wonderful convener of the wonderful Subordinate Legislation Committee, but on securing this important debate. Every MSP has received massive correspondence on the issue, which shows its importance.In introducing the deba...
Mr McAllion: Lab Committee
25 Sep 2002
Mental Health (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
Are people who suffer from mental disorder, are incapable of making decisions and will not take treatment, but who are not a risk to the community—although they are deeply unhappy in the community—to be abandoned and left out in the community without treatment or assistance, t...
Mr McAllion: Lab Committee
30 Oct 2002
Mental Health (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
You will have heard earlier that some patients who have deep reservations about compulsory treatment in the community might well make an advance statement saying that they do not want such treatment. Those patients made the point that the choice should not be between compulsor...
The Convener: Lab Committee
22 May 2001
Stobhill General Hospital
The first item on the agenda is petition PE354, from Councillor Charles Kennedy, concerning the removal of acute medical and surgical services from Stobhill general hospital. At our previous meeting we considered a response from Greater Glasgow Health Board. Specifically, we d...
Mr McAllion: Lab Chamber
21 Sep 2000
Housing Stock Transfer
I spoke at the annual general meeting of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations to praise community-based housing associations, and I have never criticised them as a legitimate form of social ownership.However, let me cast some doubt on some of the features of the Exe...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Chamber
12 Jun 2002
Fireworks
I congratulate Shona Robison on securing this important debate, which I hope will make a valuable contribution to the growing country-wide campaign for the introduction of tighter regulation of sale and use of fireworks. That campaign is run not only by groups such as the SSPC...
Mr McAllion: Lab Committee
25 Apr 2001
Petitions
The issue is causing a great deal of concern both inside and outside the Parliament. The WTO is seeking to come to a new agreement on trade and services. The majority of the members of the WTO have private health systems or part-private and part-public health systems and want ...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Committee
27 Jun 2001
Petitions
First, we should distinguish petition PE354, which is on the acute services review, from the previous petition on the special unit. Petition PE354 has nothing to do with the decision that was taken—or rather not taken—yesterday by Greater Glasgow Health Board. The Public Petit...
Mr McAllion: Lab Committee
04 Feb 2003
Mental Health (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Amendment 638 would fill a gap in the bill by adding at the end of section 182(5):"nor persons providing health or community care services on behalf of the Health Board or local authority".Amendment 726 recognises the need to spell out exactly who should not be permitted to pr...
Mr McAllion: Lab Committee
24 Oct 2001
Community Care and Health (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
Will the group publish a report or will it report privately to the Minister for Health and Community Care?
Mr McAllion: Lab Committee
16 Jan 2002
Community Care and Health (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
The Health and Community Care Committee is obviously not privy to the negotiations that went on between the Scottish Executive and the Department for Work and Pensions, nor is it privy to what goes on at joint ministerial committees. In what he said this morning, the minister ...
Mr McAllion: Lab Committee
16 Jan 2002
Community Care and Health (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
No. I just wish to thank the minister for his answer. I think that everybody on the committee accepts that there have to be priorities in the budget and that the Parliament cannot take a sensible decision on the extension of free personal care until work has been done on its i...
Mr McAllion: Lab Committee
24 Apr 2002
Petition
Last May, in an answer to a parliamentary question, the then Minister for Health and Community Care said that Epilepsy Action Scotland was willing to co-operate in the development of managed clinical networks, which would play a part in ensuring greater equity. On 14 February ...
Mr McAllion: Lab Committee
26 Jun 2002
Local Government in Scotland Bill: Stage 1
My problem with your position is that, ultimately, members of local authorities are seeking to get re-elected and so are concerned only with their own budgets. Health boards are accountable to the Minister for Health and Community Care for their budgets and that is what they a...
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): Lab Committee
04 Dec 2002
Petitions
It is important to be clear about what is being decided about new petitions. In this case, the Public Petitions Committee has passed the petitions to the Health and Community Care Committee for information only because the Public Petitions Committee is still deciding what to d...
Mr McAllion: Lab Committee
25 Feb 2003
Petitions
Petitions are spread throughout parliamentary committees and they are in a similar position to petition PE474 because there is perhaps not enough time for individual committees to explore any petition's potential. The Public Petitions Committee recommends that, when a committe...
The Convener: Lab Committee
12 Sep 2000
Current Petitions
The next petition is PE148 from Mr Brian Anderson on behalf of the Organophosphate Information Network. This petition was passed to the Health and Community Care Committee for further consideration, in consultation with the Rural Affairs Committee. We also agreed to write to t...
The Convener: Lab Committee
07 Nov 2000
Current Petitions
Petition PE283 is from Geraldine MacDonald, on behalf of the Scottish Organisation Relating to the Retention of Organs. The committee will remember from our previous meeting that the petition called on the Parliament to initiate a public inquiry into the practice of organ rete...
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Committee

Public Petitions Committee, 11 Sep 2001

11 Sep 2001 · S1 · Public Petitions Committee
Item of business
Current Petitions
McAllion, Mr John Lab Dundee East Watch on SPTV
The final part of this item is the summary of progress of petitions since the last time the committee met. If there are any questions about the summary, they can be raised with the clerks later.You will remember PE217 from Glenorchy and Innishail Community Council about their concern about single-handed general practitioner practices. We referred the petition to the Health and Community Care Committee, which issued a report. We have received correspondence from the community council and from Duncan Hamilton complaining about the way in which the Health and Community Care Committee carried out their investigation.I have not had a chance to look at the issue in detail. I am also a member of the Health and Community Care Committee but, as convener of the Public Petitions Committee, it would be for me to write to the convener of the health committee to straighten out the disagreements. The main problem seems to have been that the Health and Community Care Committee did not consult the petitioners. That is the principle that the Public Petitions Committee has to establish. I will correspond with the convener of the Health and Community Care Committee and report back.You will also remember PE354 about Greater Glasgow Health Board's intention to set up a secure care centre at Stobhill hospital. We referred the petition for consideration by the Health and Community Care Committee. We have now received a copy of the response from Greater Glasgow Health Board. It was addressed mainly to the Health and Community Care Committee and it is for that committee to respond. However, for information, the response indicates that the GGHB has changed dramatically its proposals in response to the petition and the way in which the petition was handled. It looks like the petitions process is working. There will now be full consultation with the local community before any further provisions are made.

In the same item of business

The Convener: Lab
We move on to discuss responses to a series of current petitions.The first two such petitions, PE352 and PE355, were both lodged by Mr Duncan Shields. The fi...
Phil Gallie: Con
The question that is posed by the petitioner was about the misuse of doctors' reports. Family Mediation Scotland has given the green light to submissions tha...
The Convener: Lab
If the petitioner is not satisfied with the response, he can come back to us to make that point. Family Mediation Scotland and Children in Scotland concurred...
Phil Gallie: Con
The convener's comment is fair.
The Convener: Lab
The Ethical Standards in Public Life etc (Scotland) Act 2000 will go some way toward ensuring that the problems that were raised in PE355 do not occur. It is...
The Convener: Lab
We move on to PE362, which was lodged by Jane Sargeant on behalf of the People's Protest. Members will remember that we agreed to take no further action on P...
The Convener: Lab
The next petition is PE366 from Dr Andy McDonald, on behalf of Craigmillar Community Information Service, which calls on the Parliament to urge the Executive...
The Convener: Lab
The next petition is PE367 from Mr Eric Drummond, on services for the diagnosis and treatment of those who suffer from sleep apnoea. We agreed to copy the pe...
Helen Eadie: Lab
That is reasonable. We should express our concern at the on-going difficulties. I have a case-load on the issue and I am concerned. I hope that Lothian Healt...
The Convener: Lab
Absolutely. We will be in a better position to judge that when we get the result of Lothian Health's on-going review which will, I hope, be completed in the ...
The Convener: Lab
The next petition is PE369 from Mr Brian Rostron, on behalf of the Confederation of United Kingdom Coal Producers, on opencast mining planning permissions. T...
The Convener: Lab
Petition PE373 from Mr Raymond Dorricott is about summary warrants by sheriffs to local authorities. It calls on the Parliament to amend the current legislat...
Dr Winnie Ewing: SNP
We should refer the petition to the justice committees. Allegations of unfairness in an appeal procedure, or the lack of an appeal procedure, would contraven...
The Convener: Lab
It is almost certain that the report of the working group and any proposals that arise from it will end up at the justice committees anyway, so it would be a...
Phil Gallie: Con
I support Winnie Ewing's comments. The issue has major effects on all our constituents, although it depends on the local authority areas that they are in. So...
The Convener: Lab
I sense that the committee feels that the petition should be referred to the justice committees, and that those committees should take the petition into cons...
Phil Gallie: Con
Perhaps we should underline those comments to the Executive before the Executive produces its proposals.
The Convener: Lab
It would be for the justice committees to comment on the proposals, rather than for this committee. Not everybody in this committee will have read "Striking ...
Phil Gallie: Con
I acknowledge that I am in danger of over-committing the Public Petitions Committee.
The Convener: Lab
Absolutely.We will leave it to the justice committees to arrive at conclusions, but we will refer the petition to them, draw Phil Gallie's comments to their ...
Dorothy-Grace Elder: SNP
I declare an interest as convener of the Parliament's cross-party group on chronic pain. The problem with the Executive's response is that it seems to have m...
Helen Eadie: Lab
I support referring the petition to the Health and Community Care Committee.I should declare an interest, because I am a member of the cross-party group in t...
Dr Winnie Ewing: SNP
I am a bit concerned to find that, in the Scottish Executive health department's response to this petition, Highland was the only health board to reply "No" ...
The Convener: Lab
The Executive seems to have misread PE374. In its reply, it says that pain management treatment"is likely to be complex, given the wide ranging nature of ill...
Dorothy-Grace Elder: SNP
They will not. Luckily, in this case, we are not up against party politics. An old Scottish—indeed, British—attitude towards people suffering from problems s...
The Convener: Lab
I am always merciful to the Executive. Are members agreed to refer the petition to the Health and Community Care Committee for its consideration?Members indi...
Dorothy-Grace Elder: SNP
We need an overall Scottish strategy.
The Convener: Lab
We will also refer the committee to our discussion on the matter.
Dr Ewing: SNP
Can we also refer the committee to the fact that Highland Health Board does not have any chronic pain management services?
Dorothy-Grace Elder: SNP
Absolutely.