Committee
Public Petitions Committee 27 January 2015
27 Jan 2015 · S4 · Public Petitions Committee
Item of business
Current Petitions
Polypropylene Mesh Medical Devices (PE1517)
As there are no further comments, I will sum up. There are five action points. First, we will quickly get in touch with Mr Slater and invite him to give evidence. Secondly, we will invite the chairman and chief executive of the MHRA along. Thirdly, we will write to the new Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport and invite her back for an update. Fourthly, we will consider whether to have a single agenda item and to try to accommodate as many witnesses as we can on that day, but we will need to consider the logistics of that. The fifth point is that we will also invite the European Commission to give evidence. Are we agreed? Members indicated agreement.
In the same item of business
The Convener
Lab
The next petition is PE1517, on polypropylene mesh medical devices. I welcome Neil Findlay and John Scott to the meeting. As members are aware, due to the we...
Jackson Carlaw
Con
I am happy to support that course of action.
The Convener
Lab
Do you have any comments, Mr Findlay?
Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
Before I make any comment, I would like to know whether the committee has come to any conclusions about how to proceed with the petition.
Jackson Carlaw
Con
I have a point that would lead us to that stage. The committee was appalled by the evidence that we heard, and we were enormously encouraged by the cabinet ...
Neil Findlay
Lab
I thank Mr Carlaw for that. It is disappointing that Mr Slater cannot give evidence, although that is perfectly understandable, given the weather conditions...
John Scott (Ayr) (Con)
Con
I identify myself with the foregoing remarks of colleagues. I, too, am disappointed that Mr Slater cannot give evidence, although obviously that is for entir...
The Convener
Lab
As I said at the outset, we should schedule an evidence-taking session with Mr Slater as soon as possible, and I think that we should also invite the MHRA to...
Jackson Carlaw
Con
I remind colleagues that the Scottish Government has an independent review under the chairmanship of Dr Lesley Wilkie, which will make its own recommendation...
John Wilson
Ind
I support Jackson Carlaw’s point. As well as evidence from Mr Slater, the MHRA and the chair of the independent review body, it might be useful to take evide...
Neil Findlay
Lab
I have two points. First, time is of the essence here, because the more we delay, the more potential there is for more people to be, in my view, victims of t...
David Torrance
SNP
The European Commission took evidence at the end of last year and has a report coming out this month. It might be worth while inviting it to give us evidence...
The Convener
Lab
As there are no further comments, I will sum up. There are five action points. First, we will quickly get in touch with Mr Slater and invite him to give evid...
Neil Findlay
Lab
Convener, you said that the committee would invite the cabinet secretary “for an update”. Just so that I am clear, does that mean that the committee will wri...
The Convener
Lab
Yes. We will invite the cabinet secretary to come back to the committee. Is that agreed? Members indicated agreement.
The Convener
Lab
Thank you, colleagues. Meeting closed at 11:46.