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Showing 60 of 2,354,908 contributions. Latest 30 days: 0. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 25 Mar 2026.
Gail Ross (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP) SNP Committee
10 Feb 2021
Continued Petitions
I know exactly what you mean. I have wrestled with the matter ever since the petition first came to us, when I started on the committee. I have listened to the debates in chamber. I met some of the women when they came to Parliament and was struck by their bravery and determi...
Gail Ross (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP) SNP Chamber
19 Nov 2020
Youth Football
It is an honour to open this debate on behalf of the Public Petitions Committee in my role as deputy convener. The debate is rather timely, with Scottish football at the forefront of many of our minds. The success of our national team and the joy and pride that it has brought ...
Gail Ross (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP) SNP Committee
27 Jan 2021
Continued Petitions
I feel quite nostalgic closing a petition that has been with the committee for so long. I have only dealt with it in the past couple of years, but the passion and commitment of the petitioners has really come through. What a shift they have put in. I thank them for all their w...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
10 Sep 2020
New Petitions
I have a lot of sympathy for the petition, having also got back in the saddle this summer. I used to do a lot of cycling when I was younger. I absolutely agree with the petitioner’s point about lights but, unfortunately, the matter is reserved to the UK Government. The petiti...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
09 Dec 2020
New Petitions
I agree. The petition puts me in mind of the one that we had about dog theft. There was an issue about specific crimes being included under the offence of public disorder. In this case, the issue is covered by vandalism. However, I hate to say it, but I think that there are di...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
27 Jan 2021
Continued Petitions
The research element is extremely important. I take into account the evidence from the clinical experts and the medical profession, which says that the course of action that the petition asks for is not the way to go and makes a suggestion about the research side. Therefore, I...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
26 Aug 2020
Continued Petitions
We owe a huge vote of thanks to the petitioner, as does everyone who suffers from this condition. We cannot underestimate what the petition has achieved, and the petitioner should be extremely proud of herself. I have had close contact with representatives of people with ME f...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
12 Nov 2020
Continued Petitions
The petition is similar to many that we have had in the past, in that there is a disparity between what the petitioner has told us and what the Government’s evidence says. That disparity is perhaps not only one of opinions but one of experience. As with the previous petition,...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
10 Feb 2021
Continued Petitions
I totally get where Neil Findlay is coming from. In mentioning a new petition, I absolutely do not want to put these women through anything that repeats what they have already gone through. I completely understand that it takes a lot of time, effort and energy to do something ...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
03 Sep 2020
Continued Petitions
This is a difficult one, because the Scottish Government does not agree with most of the points that the petitioner has made. It is difficult to see another avenue that the committee can go down on the petitioner’s behalf. I agree that the petition raises a lot of issues for ...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
10 Feb 2021
Continued Petitions
Again, this is an extensive issue. Death and bereavement tend to be subjects that we handle after the event rather than speaking about them openly in day-to-day life. It is up to all of us to be talking to children about the subject. I was struck by the evidence from Children...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
26 Aug 2020
Continued Petitions
We have considered the petition previously and, as I stated then, it was lodged by a member of my team at the Scottish Parliament, so I will excuse myself from commenting on the petition and its merits or otherwise. However, as the constituency member for one of the most spec...
The Deputy Convener SNP Committee
24 Sep 2020
Continued Petitions
The next continued petition for consideration is PE1769, on higher education in Scotland, which was lodged by Marie Oldfield. The petition calls on the Scottish Government to review the way in which higher education is set up and delivered in Scotland, including how students’ ...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
16 Dec 2020
New Petitions
I absolutely support the petition in the round. I agree that all health boards and organisations should consider what would be the best services for local need. Nobody wants to send pregnant women 100 miles to give birth and I would love to see something provided locally, if t...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
24 Mar 2021
Continued Petitions
I concur with what has been said. The right thing to do is to let the consultation run its course. The petitioners and anyone else who has been following the petition can feed into the consultation. As I have said before, and as we all know, the issue is extremely important, a...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
17 Sep 2020
Continued Petitions
We certainly cannot overstate how important the petition has been, and will continue to be. It is more important than ever now, given that we find ourselves in the midst of a pandemic. In her response to our inquiry, the Minister for Mental Health stated exactly the same thing...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
17 Sep 2020
Continued Petitions
We no longer need to press “record” and “play” at the same time. I agree with the convener. When the committee first considered the petition, there was talk about who would be able to record, and about how some councils webcast some meetings live, which allows people to go ba...
Gail Ross (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP) SNP Committee
09 Dec 2020
Continued Petitions
I agree. I was quite frustrated with the Government’s submission. The thing that struck me about it is that the Government said that the numbers are too small for individual residential units in communities. Basically, reading between the lines, if it was going to make such pr...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
13 Jan 2021
Continued Petitions
As we know, a lot of organisations throughout the country, particularly those in the sporting sector, are in a difficult situation. I agree that we have probably taken the petition as far as we can take it. As the convener and Maurice Corry suggested, there will need to be ext...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
27 Jan 2021
Continued Petitions
The petition deals with an issue in my constituency, so I know quite a lot about it. Several communities, organisations and businesses came together, a lot of whom rely on marine tourism in the particular area where the two firths meet. They put a lot of work into the protest:...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
27 Jan 2021
Continued Petitions
The petition throws up interesting points. I, too, am given comfort by the Scottish Government’s detailed response. We have taken the petition as far as we can, so I am content to close it under rule 15.7, given that a record is kept that notes why the hearing was arranged, wh...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
27 Jan 2021
Continued Petitions
As has been said, the subject of the petition is a very emotional and difficult subject to broach. The personal circumstances in which many families find themselves at the moment are absolutely heart-breaking. It is difficult for clinicians to strike the balance between patien...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
10 Mar 2021
Continued Petitions
I do not think that there is anything else that we can do with the petition. As you have said, convener, the commissioner is not subject to the control of any member of the Parliament. There are procedures in place—for example, a report is submitted annually. The corporate bod...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
24 Mar 2021
Continued Petitions
I want to thank our co-opted member, Jackie Baillie, for her kind words. She has contributed so much on many petitions, even in the short time that I have been here, and her advice and guidance have been really valuable. I also thank her for her contribution today. We need to...
The Deputy Convener SNP Committee
10 Oct 2019
New Petitions
The final new petition for consideration is PE1752 on management and time recording systems in the Scottish Government, lodged by Bill Alexander. The petition calls for the Scottish Government to introduce suitable workforce management and time recording systems to monitor th...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
05 Mar 2020
Continued Petitions
As I said when we first considered the petition, I have been supportive of the issue right from the start and have spoken on it in the chamber a number of times. The difficulty that we have is that, for a while, we did not know whether the proposed good food nation bill would ...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
26 Aug 2020
New Petitions
I think that the Scottish Government is aware of the situation. I was pleased to note from its submission that it will work towards a more humane solution. The fact that no maceration is taking place in Scotland is important, but the petitioner’s point is that it is still refe...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
10 Sep 2020
Continued Petitions
Yes, I absolutely agree. Something definitely is not being addressed. I do not agree with the argument that, because that part of the 2018 act has not been commenced yet, the impact assessments should not be adhered to and carried out. During my time as a councillor—I believe...
The Deputy Convener SNP Committee
24 Sep 2020
Continued Petitions
The next continued petition for our consideration is PE1773, on reforming rape law, which was brought by Sarah Takahashi. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to update the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 to include the offence of a...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
29 Oct 2020
Continued Petitions
Like my colleagues, I am happy that the Scottish Gamekeepers Association’s fishing group is being consulted and I would like to know about the outcome, so I agree that we should write to the Government on that. As we discussed when the petition first came before us, all stakeh...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
25 Nov 2020
New Petitions
I find the petition interesting and really quite frustrating, because there is a note in it about the petitioner wanting to apply for a job six miles away but being barred from doing that for some reason. Where I come from, in Caithness, people travel miles to get to their wor...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
09 Dec 2020
New Petitions
This is another example of a subjective view from somebody who has first-hand experience of a sector or something that has happened where the practice differs from the policy. There are a couple of things in the petition that make me feel a bit uncomfortable and I would not wa...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
27 Jan 2021
Continued Petitions
I agree that the petition highlights some important issues. As with other petitions that we have considered over the previous months, it highlights a gap between policy and practice. We get evidence from whatever organisation oversees a sector that certain things should be hap...
Gail Ross (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP) SNP Committee
24 Mar 2021
Continued Petitions
I thank our family of campaigners, some of whom have joined us today, for all their work. I include Alex Neil in that as well. In relation to everything that has been said, I totally agree with the convener’s suggestion about passing the petition on to the Health and Sport Co...
The Deputy Convener SNP Committee
10 Oct 2019
New Petitions
Okay. We thank the petitioner, but we agree to close the petition under standing order rule 15.7 on the basis, as Brian Whittle said, that the action called for in the petition is considered difficult to achieve in practice. Thank you very much. Meeting closed at 10:44.
The Deputy Convener SNP Committee
03 Sep 2020
New Petitions
Thank you. No member has indicated that they disagree with the committee closing the petition under standing orders rule 15.7, because we agree that the Scottish Government is considering the points in the petition. We thank the petitioner. As always, they have the opportunity...
The Deputy Convener SNP Committee
03 Sep 2020
New Petitions
Based on that discussion, we are therefore proposing to close the petition, under standing orders rule 15.7, on the following bases: that there is an established professional code of conduct, along with standards and underlying legislation that are intended to ensure that jour...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
10 Sep 2020
Continued Petitions
I was also grateful for the detail that the SFRS response went into. It explained things extremely well. I think that we have no choice but to close the petition, because there have been substantive reviews of the legislation. Our notes mention the Justice Committee’s post-le...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
17 Sep 2020
Continued Petitions
What we have read feels very positive. Given that arrangements were made to meet in April, when we were in lockdown, I am not sure where we are in relation to the meeting. However, the very fact that a meeting had been arranged between the Government and the petitioner is a ma...
The Deputy Convener SNP Committee
24 Sep 2020
Continued Petitions
Okay. I thank the petitioner, who raised an extremely emotive issue. When emotion runs up against legislation, the situation is very difficult, but I think that the committee agrees that we should close the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders, on the basis that all the...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
01 Oct 2020
Continued Petitions
The Scottish endocrine interest group has agreed to explore how health boards can raise awareness of the condition, and David Torrance is right that NHS Education for Scotland is working with the endocrine clinical community to consider how a digital platform could enable more...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
08 Oct 2020
Continued Petitions
I thank Jackie Baillie for coming along and pushing the matter on behalf of her constituents. She is absolutely correct that the petitioner has made an impact. I disagree with her on keeping the petition open, because we have taken it as far as we can. We have the Government’s...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
08 Oct 2020
Continued Petitions
I echo what has been said so far, and I thank the convener for providing her knowledge of the issue through her opening remarks. This is another piece of work that has, unfortunately, been delayed due to the pandemic that we are all living through, and I hope that the revised...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
29 Oct 2020
Continued Petitions
You are absolutely right, convener—the fact that the Scottish Government has flagged up the issue and that the BHIG and the strategic historic environment forum are discussing it shows that the issue is a serious one. Again, however, I am not sure whether we can take any more...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
29 Oct 2020
Continued Petitions
I think that you have covered the issues well, convener. There were a lot of interesting and thorough responses to this petition, and I thank everyone who has replied. Those responses have added to my knowledge of how the system works. As you said, convener, the possible inequ...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
27 Jan 2021
Continued Petitions
This is another petition that has raised some very important points. I thought that the Scottish Government’s submission was detailed, and I have certainly learned a lot more about who decides what wages. That was a bit of an eye opener. It is not always the Scottish Governmen...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
27 Jan 2021
Continued Petitions
The response from the Scottish Government proves that there is a lot of focus on jobs at the moment, especially in relation to young people. That gives me some comfort about connecting jobs to the people who need them. I agree that if there are funds that are not well known, m...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
10 Feb 2021
Continued Petitions
The Scottish Government does not support the action that the petition calls for, because it believes that it would pose a risk to local accountability and multi-agency working. Existing powers and duties are in place to investigate complaints, and key stakeholders do not suppo...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
10 Feb 2021
Continued Petitions
I would have liked to have heard back from the petitioners about the evidence that we received the first time around, but we have not had a submission from them. However, they emailed me and I asked a question about the mental health and wellbeing of expectant mothers in the c...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
10 Feb 2021
Continued Petitions
It is a heart-breaking situation and a hugely emotional issue. It does not affect me directly, but I have huge sympathy with the many people who must be affected by it. Neil Findlay put his own situation across. It is an issue where we want our heart to rule our head. We all ...
Gail Ross (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP) SNP Chamber
17 Mar 2021
Standing Order Rule Changes (Public Petitions System)
On behalf of the Public Petitions Committee, I welcome the proposed standing orders rule changes. As we know, demand for petitioning the Scottish Parliament continues to grow each year, and that is to be celebrated. The committee has been greatly encouraged by that public enga...
The Deputy Convener (Gail Ross) SNP Committee
26 Sep 2019
Continued Petitions
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the 17th meeting in 2019 of the Public Petitions Committee. I ask everyone to switch their mobile phones to silent. Our only agenda item this morning is consideration of continued petitions. The first petition for consideration is PE1463...
The Deputy Convener SNP Committee
26 Sep 2019
Continued Petitions
Our next petition for consideration is PE1629, on magnetic resonance imaging scans for ocular melanoma sufferers in Scotland. The petition was lodged by Jennifer Lewis. Last time we considered the petition, in January 2019, we took evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Heal...
The Deputy Convener SNP Committee
10 Oct 2019
Continued Petition
The next item on our agenda is consideration of a continued petition, PE1600, by John Chapman, which calls for the introduction of speed awareness courses. The petition was last considered in February 2019. At that meeting, the committee agreed to take evidence from representa...
The Deputy Convener SNP Committee
10 Oct 2019
New Petitions
The first new petition for consideration today is PE1743. The petition was lodged by John Foster, on behalf of Govan Community Council and others, and is on amending the law to protect the rights of pre-1989 Scottish secure tenants. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliamen...
The Deputy Convener SNP Committee
10 Oct 2019
New Petitions
The next petition is PE1746 on the creation of a Scottish space non-departmental public body lodged by Andrew Paliwoda. The petition calls on the Scottish Government to create a non-departmental public body with responsibility for space technology and to work in partnership wi...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
05 Dec 2019
Continued Petitions
Like everybody else, I have absolute sympathy with what the group is trying to do. There are gardens of national significance in my constituency. I can see both sides but, in the interests of getting off the fence and coming to a conclusion, I return to the fact that the petit...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
05 Mar 2020
New Petitions
As you said, convener, Makaton is widely used in a lot of sectors. My son is given a sign a week and we practise it at home. It is fun and also useful. However, the petition goes to the heart of what it is for—communication. As we see in the committee papers, Mark McDonald MSP...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
26 Aug 2020
Continued Petitions
I agree. The substantive points in the petition have been addressed. I, too, do not want there to be the perception in any community that the committee was in any way missing out a group or doing anything against another part of a group that was seen to be detrimental or negat...
Gail Ross SNP Committee
03 Sep 2020
New Petitions
In its submission, the Scottish Government says that it is already working with Homes for Scotland to try to understand the issues. I take the point that the issue that the petitioner raises does not seem have been an issue for anyone else. I was interested to read about the ...
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Committee

Public Petitions Committee 10 February 2021

10 Feb 2021 · S5 · Public Petitions Committee
Item of business
Continued Petitions
Polypropylene Mesh Medical Devices (PE1517)
Ross, Gail SNP Caithness, Sutherland and Ross Watch on SPTV
I know exactly what you mean. I have wrestled with the matter ever since the petition first came to us, when I started on the committee. I have listened to the debates in chamber. I met some of the women when they came to Parliament and was struck by their bravery and determination to see the matter through to a conclusion. I have absolutely no doubt that there should be some sort of compensation fund. The women need to be given that respect. I want to thank our three visiting MSPs, whose evidence is very important to us. I agree that it is very difficult now for the women to trust the surgeons in Scotland, and I question whether they will want to participate in the proposed centre. Many have said that they are not happy about it and are not happy with the way the Government included them in discussions. I agree that there has been a complete breakdown of trust. Dr Veronikis’s evidence last year was devastating. We had a very good discussion with him. He is at a loss to understand why the procedure is still being used. Unfortunately, bridges have been burned in relation to getting him over here, so I believe that getting the women over to him is the only possibility that we are left with. As for how that can happen, convener, I am with you; I do not believe that it should take a petition for it to happen. It should be happening anyway, but—as the convener asked—can we achieve that through the petition, because the matter is not included in it? We now have to make a difficult decision. Do we keep the petition open in order to address the specific points that have not been addressed? I also agree that a public inquiry should be front and centre. To close the petition would sound as though we have addressed everything, but we absolutely have not, and we know that. However, if we are going to fight for compensation, or for funding for the women to go to America for the procedures, there will need to be another petition. Should we continue the petition and monitor what the Government has said is happening with the patient safety commissioner, the Health and Social Care Alliance, and so on, or should we close it and ask the petitioners to come back with a more focused petition on a public inquiry and compensation to get them back the money that they have spent—their life savings—on going to America? I think that the latter would be more effective. I look to my committee colleagues for their opinions, but I think that we would get further with a new and more focused petition.

In the same item of business

The Convener (Johann Lamont) Lab
Good morning. I welcome everyone to the third meeting of the Public Petitions Committee in 2021. This meeting is being held virtually. I will be participatin...
Jackson Carlaw (Eastwood) (Con) Con
The petition has both international and national significance. I understand that it has been running since the previous session of Parliament, when I was a m...
The Convener Lab
Thank you very much. I welcome John Scott, who has now joined us, but I will call on Neil Findlay first.
Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab) Lab
Frankly, the petition came forward out of the exasperation of the Scottish mesh campaigners. Working with them over the years, we tried every parliamentary a...
The Convener Lab
I call John Scott.
John Scott (Ayr) (Con) Con
Thank you, convener, and I apologise for my late arrival. I want to complement what has been said by Jackson Carlaw and Neil Findlay and will begin by sayin...
The Convener Lab
Thank you very much. There is no doubt about the extent to which the survivors’ accounts have had an impact on anyone who has heard what has happened, includ...
Gail Ross (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP) SNP
I know exactly what you mean. I have wrestled with the matter ever since the petition first came to us, when I started on the committee. I have listened to ...
Maurice Corry (West Scotland) (Con) Con
I fully agree with most of what my colleague, Gail Ross, has just said. I thank my fellow MSPs—Neil Findlay, Jackson Carlaw and John Scott—who gave some very...
David Torrance (Kirkcaldy) (SNP) SNP
As a member of the Public Petitions Committee in the previous session of Parliament, I am deeply disappointed that the matter has not been resolved by now. W...
Tom Mason (North East Scotland) (Con) Con
We have all experienced the evidence that has been given by groups with vested interests in the petition. Medical treatments and the like are all to do with ...
The Convener Lab
Thank you very much. Neil Findlay wants to come back in.
Neil Findlay Lab
I want to advise that there has been zero contact with Dr Veronikis since the cabinet secretary previously commented. I think that the matter could have been...
Gail Ross SNP
I totally get where Neil Findlay is coming from. In mentioning a new petition, I absolutely do not want to put these women through anything that repeats what...
The Convener Lab
What we are wrestling with here is not whether we think these women have been treated badly or that there is a great deal more to do. On balance, the committ...
Maurice Corry Con
I am moved by Neil Findlay’s points about pushing on with the key issues with the Scottish Government, which follow on from my question and my great concern ...
David Torrance SNP
Neil Findlay mentioned that it would be time consuming to write a new petition and to bring it to a new Parliament. Could the clerks give the petitioners a h...
The Convener Lab
It is important to remember that clerks do work with petitioners to make sure that their petitions meet all the criteria, and they would be supportive. Howev...
John Scott Con
Thank you very much, convener, for letting me come back in. I, too, pay tribute to the work of the clerks over many years, not just on this petition but gene...
The Convener Lab
My sense is that the significance of the petition and the progress that it has made so far is such that we do not want to let it go. We would not want anybod...
Gail Ross SNP
Given how important the issue is, and the timescales that we are looking at, if we are going to write to the cabinet secretary, we should definitely mention ...
Tom Mason Con
I worry a little about parts of what have been suggested about an inquiry. The danger of inquiries is that they look backwards and can become a blame game. W...
The Convener Lab
People always have to balance the arguments when they look to have a public inquiry. Does an inquiry take resources that could be used in another way? There ...