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This is my final question. What particular challenges does your organisation face over the next five years?

You know where I am going now. Could you describe and explain the mission and outcomes of the new strategy? How was the new strategy developed, and how has your outlook on the role and remit of Food Standards Scotland changed over the past five years?

Thank you. I have no further questions.

In the light of the Scottish Government’s stance, I wonder whether we could consider closing the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders, on the basis that the Scottish Government will not take forward the development of guidance on the interaction between child contact dispute processes and the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018; that it plans to make regulations to give the courts the power to make an order in relation to a person who has behaved in a vexatious manner in civil proceedings to require them to obtain permission from the court before raising further specified actions; and that it is preparing a policy paper for the Scottish Civil Justice Council to propose court rule changes to ensure that the civil courts receive information on domestic abuse at the outset of the case.

In the light of the evidence that is before us, I do not think that the committee has any other option but to close the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders on the basis that the Children (Scotland) Act 2020, once in force, will require the court to consider whether any delay in proceedings would negatively affect a child’s welfare. Cases can vary significantly, and a standardised timetable would not recognise the different complexities in individual cases. There are case management rules in place in respect of family actions, and one of the key aims is greater judicial case management resulting in cases being resolved more quickly. The Scottish Government does not consider the ask of the petition to be practical or achievable.

I wonder whether the committee would consider closing the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders, on the basis that British standard BS 8300 makes recommendations on the use of light reflectance values in buildings and signage to establish tonal contrasts between elements; that, when guidance is produced by the Scottish Government, the recommendations of BS 8300 are either cited directly or inform its production; and that the committee has no further time available to progress the issue that the petition raises.

You are right, convener.

In the light of the written evidence, the committee should consider closing the petition under rule 15.7 of the standing orders, on the basis that the Scottish Government has set its key objectives and eligibility criteria for the Scottish 2025-26 flu and Covid-19 vaccination programme, based on JCVI advice, and has not indicated that it intends to deviate from that advice. The committee has no further time remaining in this parliamentary session to progress the issues that are raised in the petition.

The petition’s asks are not achievable. I sit on the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, and we have seen the vital role that technology has played in rural areas to enable people to communicate and to be diagnosed over great distances, and we will never change the GP contracts.

In the light of that, I wonder whether we could consider closing the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders, on the basis that, in 2004, the obligation to provide out-of-hours services was removed from the GP contracts for most GP practices; that the Scottish Government does not believe that the profession would support any revision to its contract that would introduce out-of-hours requirements and considers that any such revision would endanger progress towards recruiting more GPs; that the Scottish Government is not taking action to return out-of-hours services to general practitioners of delivery or to make all GP appointments in person; that modern general practice is based on the services provided by a range of disciplines, which means that a GP receptionist needs to be able to signpost patients to the right clinician, which in turn means asking patients for some information; and that the committee has no further time within this parliamentary session to progress the issues that were raised in the petition.

If the policy is not published in autumn 2027, a petitioner could quickly bring a fresh petition to the committee.

In light of the evidence that the committee has collected, will the committee consider closing the petition under rule 15.7 of standard orders, on the basis that the Scottish Government’s position is that powers to mandate community benefits and shared ownership are reserved to the UK Government?

The Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy has indicated her engagement with the UK Government on mandating community benefits and facilitating shared ownership. The Scottish Government has highlighted a number of initiatives to encourage developers to offer shared ownership opportunities, and the committee has raised relevant issues as part of a thematic evidence session with the cabinet secretary.