Hansard

Tom Mason Con Committee

09 Dec 2020

Continued Petitions

We all want more funding and more resources to be put into health services, but I think the Covid pandemic has caused us to think very clearly about what the forward plans and strategies should be in terms of public health, beds, acute things and specialist services, and so on...

Tom Mason Con Committee

16 Dec 2020

Continued Petitions

I am in a dilemma. There are issues that need to be expanded and continued, but I am not sure that we can necessarily make anything happen. I am drawn to the question of why a bursary for learning science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects cannot be extended to ...

Tom Mason (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

24 Oct 2017

Helicopter Safety (North Sea)

I thank Lewis Macdonald for bringing the issue to public attention. I remain a City of Aberdeen councillor and a number of constituents in my ward go offshore, not least of whom is my son, who regularly travels by helicopter. Our foremost concern in the debate is the safety o...

Tom Mason (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

07 Nov 2017

Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Scotland’s land and forests are vitally important resources for many in our country. For example, I have observed Assich forest near Nairn, where the developer has done one cycle, if not a second. There are those who find it not sustainable, but I understand from foresters tha...

Tom Mason (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

17 Jan 2019

Credit Unions

A long time ago, before the world was round, I was a junior engineer on a construction site and I had to borrow from and make contributions to the box. I never quite understood what the box was, but latterly I learned that it was the beginnings of a credit union—in the crude f...

Tom Mason (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Chamber

23 Jan 2020

Consumer Scotland Bill: Stage 1

An important piece of legislation is being considered today. A new consumer protection agency has the potential to help many people across the country and further promote consumer confidence across a variety of business sectors. Currently, there are a number of organisations t...

Tom Mason Con Committee

05 Mar 2020

Continued Petitions

Another improvement that has been highlighted is the upgrading of the old military road, which serves as a diversion when the A83 is closed. Will you provide an update on that work and say how many times it has been successfully used as a diversion from the A83?

Tom Mason Con Committee

05 Mar 2020

Continued Petitions

Is the forestry road still used as an alternative there as well?

Tom Mason Con Committee

05 Mar 2020

Continued Petitions

The road on the other side.

Tom Mason Con Committee

05 Mar 2020

Continued Petitions

Is the forestry road out of the picture altogether?

Tom Mason Con Committee

05 Mar 2020

Continued Petitions

It is a way through, though.

Tom Mason Con Committee

05 Mar 2020

Continued Petitions

You are saying that the military road will be the alternative, if it is needed.

Tom Mason Con Committee

05 Mar 2020

Continued Petitions

I have no additional comments. I take what the petitioners have said at face value, and simply endorse what other members have said.

Tom Mason Con Committee

26 Aug 2020

Continued Petitions

I came to the petition quite late, but it is obvious to me that the differences have been resolved by talking, so the petition process has achieved the objective that it set out to achieve. Having got understanding across the board, I think that closing the petition is the rig...

Tom Mason Con Committee

26 Aug 2020

Continued Petitions

ME is a difficult disease—or whatever—to understand; even the most qualified doctors struggle. The work that being done in research, as well as the attention in medical schools, is a good thing. A lot of attention is now being paid to most of the areas around ME and to some of...

Tom Mason Con Committee

26 Aug 2020

Continued Petitions

The prospect of the development of space activities in Scotland is going well at the moment. The creation of an additional body might actually confuse the issue and unnecessarily set us back on a course of rivalry with the rest of the United Kingdom. As things are going well, ...

Tom Mason Con Committee

26 Aug 2020

Continued Petitions

The issue is too important to be considered a minority issue—it should be mainstream, and should be dealt with by the Education and Skills Committee. It is a major issue, and if a gap has been identified, that committee should pick up the issue and run with it. I am disappoin...

Tom Mason Con Committee

26 Aug 2020

Continued Petitions

I remind the committee that, as well as being an MSP, I am a local councillor in Aberdeen, so I get involved in planning, one way or another. My knowledge of planning goes back many years. One thing that I have found is that the population’s involvement at early stages of the...

Tom Mason Con Committee

26 Aug 2020

Continued Petitions

The great wild landscape of Scotland was why I chose Scotland as my home 40-odd years ago, and I have enjoyed it ever since. It distresses me that a minority of people are destroying the great Highlands and other landscapes that we possess. However, I am aware that any actions...

Tom Mason Con Committee

03 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

The issue has been running since long before I entered Parliament. I am a member of the cross-party group on chronic pain, and we have heard some quite horrifying stories about the suffering that certain patients have been through. We need to make some progress and offer some ...

Tom Mason Con Committee

03 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

I have nothing to add. It is a complex issue on which we need to make progress. I agree with other members that the committee should seek more information from the various stakeholders and from the Government to enable us to make informed decisions.

Tom Mason Con Committee

03 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

I have nothing to add—I agree with what has been said so far. There are gaps in the information that we have received, which need to be closed. At this stage, writing to the Government and COSLA is the right idea.

Tom Mason Con Committee

03 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

I would like some more information on what the drivers are for outcomes, and on whether it is appropriate to give flexibility or whether there has to be more direction. We do not have information on what the drivers are, so we could write to the Scottish Government to find out...

Tom Mason Con Committee

03 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

The situation has been taken on board. Issues have arisen from the pandemic, and transport has been in a bit of a mess. We need to see what transpires. I suspect that there will be reviews of various contracts as a result of that. At this stage, closing the petition is approp...

Tom Mason Con Committee

03 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

To me, the petition is rather confusing, in that it mixes up planning with taxation and tries to link taxation to how people use a property rather than the style of the property. I note that there was no further submission from the petitioner after the Government made its comm...

Tom Mason Con Committee

10 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

I hear what you say, convener. The issue seems to have been going on for a very long time—since 2014—and there has been little or no progress. At this stage, closing the petition would let the Government off the hook. We need to keep the pressure on and make sure that the Gove...

Tom Mason Con Committee

10 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

We should keep the petition open. Something might come up that we are not aware of at the moment, so it might be premature to close it. We should keep it open and write to seek more information on the matter.

Tom Mason Con Committee

10 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

I do not have anything to add. I agree with what has been said so far. We should keep the petition open and make sure that people do what they should do.

Tom Mason Con Committee

10 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

I have to register an interest in that I suffer from Parkinson’s disease, which is allied to essential tremor. In fact, it was first thought that I had essential tremor before it was decided that I had Parkinson’s. There are something like a million sufferers of essential tre...

Tom Mason Con Committee

10 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

I agree with what you have just said, convener. There are a lot of issues and they need to be looked at as a whole. I think that referring the petition to the ECCLR Committee would be the right way to go, to make sure that all those issues are kept in one area; otherwise it al...

Tom Mason Con Committee

10 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

The inclusion of various subjects in the curriculum is always complex. There is a continual balance to be struck between what is required by central education authorities, what is required by parents and what is required by the surrounding area and so on. At the end of the day...

Tom Mason Con Committee

10 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

I agree with what has been said and think that we should close the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders.

Tom Mason Con Committee

10 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

The explanations and the submissions are comprehensive. The issue is very intricate, but we cannot take it any further. I suppose that the next stage is to have a case taken to court. Whatever opinions are taken now will certainly be opinions and not necessarily facts. At this...

Tom Mason (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Committee

17 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

Minister, in your submission, you said that, as part of the gender pay gap action plan, the Scottish Government has carried out research into “the barriers that mothers face when returning to work”. Based on that research, what barriers are mothers of multiples facing compar...

Tom Mason Con Committee

17 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

We certainly seem to have made good progress in relation to the petition. I am therefore happy to close it under rule 15.7.

Tom Mason Con Committee

17 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

Yes, convener—I think I am here. Can you hear me?

Tom Mason Con Committee

17 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

I have the wrong camera on at the moment.

Tom Mason Con Committee

17 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

I agree with the recommendation that you describe. I am happy to close the petition, but we need to make sure that the Government progresses the issue in a satisfactory manner.

Tom Mason Con Committee

17 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

I am happy to close the petition at this juncture. I was having a few connection problems, which I have finally resolved. Can you see me?

Tom Mason Con Committee

17 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

I am happy to close the petition.

Tom Mason Con Committee

17 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

We have certainly covered the distance on the petition. The report will make a major contribution to what will happen. I am not sure how we will highlight any concerns that have been raised, except via the report, which I hope has the effect that it should. The petitioner has...

Tom Mason Con Committee

17 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

We have made some progress. It would be good to send a note to the Government to make sure that it does what it has said it will do. It is right to close the petition.

Tom Mason Con Committee

17 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

I agree that we should keep the petition open. It is a very important issue and, if we can get it right, the opportunity to save lives is quite extensive. Equipment and the like being in good condition can be the reason why lives are saved. It would be a good idea to keep the ...

Tom Mason Con Committee

24 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

We are on plan B, obviously. This is a difficult one. Clearly, the petition has two parts. One part is about the private prosecution system and the other part is about legal aid generally. There are huge problems across the board with the legal aid system. As a justice of th...

Tom Mason Con Committee

24 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

This is a very difficult area, and I fully appreciate why such proceedings are not recorded at the moment. However, there is the great issue of how to know what has gone on before when carrying adjourned cases forward from one meeting to the next. It could be quite gruelling t...

Tom Mason Con Committee

24 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

I agree with Jackie Baillie. I was an academic for 27 years and I understand how these things can come about. I had a number of experiences in university in which bullying, in effect, took place. It was up to the academics to get solutions, and I managed to resolve most of tho...

Tom Mason Con Committee

24 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

I agree with my colleagues. We have had enough information to assure us that the law should not change, so it would be appropriate to close the petition under rule 15.7.

Tom Mason Con Committee

24 Sep 2020

Continued Petitions

I agree with my colleagues. The matter has the attention of both Governments, which have it well under control. However, it might be appropriate and a good idea to write to the Governments to remind them of the issues to do with children. The Governments are on the right lines...

Tom Mason Con Committee

01 Oct 2020

Continued Petitions

Like you, convener, I was worried about the research aspect. Research proposals are welcome, and there is no strategy for achieving that research. It is a very self-indulgent process for academics or whatever. It is far too random. On the other hand, in the context of this pet...

Tom Mason Con Committee

01 Oct 2020

Continued Petitions

I agree with Gail Ross. It is very important that people have confidence in their ability to deal with such cases in their own working time. If they do not have such confidence, they will not do what is necessary, even if they have the knowledge. It is essential that people ha...

Tom Mason Con Committee

01 Oct 2020

Continued Petitions

I have an interest to declare in that I have a 45kg pet who already thinks he is a people and I do not want him to be confirmed as such. The Government has clearly stated that the theft of such pets is a criminal offence and there is sufficient penalty for doing so. It is clea...

Tom Mason Con Committee

01 Oct 2020

Continued Petitions

Sign language is important. However, I can see some problems with the various dialects within the language. That causes problems even across the UK, let alone on an international basis. However, bringing British Sign Language up the league to L2 should be considered and a disc...

Tom Mason Con Committee

08 Oct 2020

Continued Petitions

The petition has, in practice, been overtaken by events, and I do not think that keeping it open will achieve anything. If the Government does not perform as expected, the petitioner can come back with another petition. Such a petition would be more meaningful, because it woul...

Tom Mason Con Committee

08 Oct 2020

Continued Petitions

I take on board the issues that the petitioners and Alex Burnett have raised. Lyme disease is a horrible condition. My brother suffered from it, or we think that he did. One problem is that the knowledge base in the medical profession is not complete enough, so there needs to ...

Tom Mason Con Committee

08 Oct 2020

Continued Petitions

It is a difficult one. What is missing is a case on the process that has been taken to court in order to establish the finality of the law on the issue. I presume that all the cases on the topic are resolved one way or another before they get to the High Court for a ruling. Ho...

Tom Mason Con Committee

08 Oct 2020

Continued Petitions

Having listened to the conversation, I will go along with what Maurice Corry and Gail Ross have said, in as much as we need to get assurance of some movement, but closing the petition might be appropriate.

Tom Mason Con Committee

08 Oct 2020

Continued Petitions

I do not have much more to add, and I agree with what has been said so far. It is an important issue to get right. If the Government is to review the guidance, I hope that that will be sooner rather than later.

Tom Mason Con Committee

08 Oct 2020

Continued Petitions

Issues and legislation that have been delegated will, by definition, be local, and will be dealt with according to the various needs and priorities of the local community. The issue goes with other issues to do with landlords, rented accommodation and housing generally, so ref...

Tom Mason Con Committee

08 Oct 2020

Continued Petitions

I exceed your age by many years, convener. I remember when shops closed at Saturday lunch time and on Wednesday afternoons. I do not think that we have necessarily benefited from some shops now being open 24 hours a day. We now have the alternative of shopping online, which is...

Tom Mason (North East Scotland) (Con) Con Committee

22 Oct 2020

Continued Petition

We need to clarify what has been going on. In your written submission, you stated that you required sponsorship from Scotland as part of the General Medical Council’s eminent visiting surgeon scheme. What does the scheme require?