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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 19 August 2025
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Displaying 1066 contributions

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Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

New Petitions

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

David Torrance

Could we keep the petition open to gather more information? There are several stakeholders that I would like the committee to write to, including the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Faculty of Advocates, the Law Society of Scotland, Rape Crisis Scotland and Victim Support Scotland, seeking their views on what is raised in the petition.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

David Torrance

Might the committee be minded to keep the petition open and to write to the Scottish Government to seek details of the engagement and consultation that it plans to undertake when developing the new BSL national plan?

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

David Torrance

We can take the petition no further on the evidence that we have, so I would like to close it under rule 15.7 of the standing orders, on the basis that an operational system of independent advisers on the ministerial code exists; the Scottish Government has no plans to amend the decision-making process in any way proposed by the petitioner; and no current examples of independent committees in UK legislatures exist in any way proposed by the petitioner.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

New Petitions

Meeting date: 8 March 2023

David Torrance

I wonder whether the committee can write to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to ask what steps it is taking to ensure that the procedural rules and practices of the courts and their complaints procedures are transparent and accessible to members of the public.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

New Petitions

Meeting date: 22 February 2023

David Torrance

If members do not have any other comments, do we agree to close the petition?

Members indicated agreement.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 22 February 2023

David Torrance

Stephanie, thank you very much for your opening statement, which must have been really heartbreaking and emotional for you to read out. Members have a number of questions that they would like to explore. If you are happy, I will ask the first question. What are your main concerns about Police Scotland’s current handling of unexplained deaths?

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 22 February 2023

David Torrance

PE1934, which was lodged by Craig Scoular on behalf of Greenfaulds high school rights and equalities committee, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to work with Education Scotland to develop an educational resource on gender-based violence for all year groups in high school. The resource should educate on the causes of gender-based violence and ensure that young people leave school with the tools to help them to create a safer society for women.

At our previous consideration of the petition, the committee agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and to COSLA. We requested information from COSLA on the current provision of gender-based violence lessons across local authorities. COSLA’s response details a number of on-going workstreams that schools are delivering in partnership with local rape crisis centres and Rape Crisis Scotland.

The submission from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills states that recording and monitoring of incidents in schools is essential, emphasising the importance of a consistent and uniform approach. SEEMiS, which is a local authority-owned tool, provides a function to record instances of sexual harassment. An evaluation was due to take place in 2022 to assess the success of the system. The submission also highlights upcoming reviews of personal and social education and prevention practices.

Does any member have any thoughts?

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

Continued Petitions

Meeting date: 22 February 2023

David Torrance

PE1919, which was lodged by Ted Gourley, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to ban the sale of fast-release caffeine gum to under-18s for performance enhancement due to the risk of serious harm.

At our previous consideration of the petition on 28 September 2022, where we agreed to seek information from the Scottish Government on when the report on the consultation on ending the sale of energy drinks to children and young people will be published.

We have now received a response from the Government, which states that it will publish an independent consultation analysis report and set out its policy response “in due course.” The response also suggests that the evidence base in relation to caffeine, and caffeine gum specifically, continues to develop. Furthermore, it will look to the European Food Safety Authority and others as the evidence base evolves to consider the implications for the current advice on caffeine products. At this stage, the Government is not considering a ban on the sale of fast-release caffeine products to under-18s.

We have also received two submissions from the petitioner in which he raises concerns about the lack of available evidence to understand the impacts of high-strength, fast-release caffeine products on athletes of various ages. Mr Gourley also offers suggestions for further information gathering by the committee, as well as drawing our attention to advice that the US Anti-Doping Agency provides in relation to caffeine.

Do any members have suggestions?

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

New Petitions

Meeting date: 22 February 2023

David Torrance

Does the committee agree to all those recommendations?

Members indicated agreement.

Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

New Petitions

Meeting date: 22 February 2023

David Torrance

Do members agree with those suggestions?

Members indicated agreement.