Document 1151
Scottish Parliament: Committees: Public Petitions: Minutes: Meeting 9, 2002
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PUBLIC PETITIONS COMMITTEE
MINUTES
9th Meeting, 2002 (Session 1)
Tuesday 21st May 2002
Present:
Dorothy-Grace Elder
Helen Eadie (Deputy Convener)
Winnie Ewing
Phil Gallie
Rhoda Grant
John Farquhar Munro
The meeting opened at 10.04 am.
1. Consideration of new petitions: Members considered and agreed action on the following new petitions:
PE497 Petition by Mr James and Mrs Pamela McDougall, calling for the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Executive, following its 2000 consultation exercise, to implement legislation at the earliest opportunity to alleviate the nuisance caused by hedges.
The Committee agreed to write to the Executive seeking its comments on the issues raised in the petition, with a specific request for information on the likely timescale for its proposed legislation on so-called ‘nuisance hedges, and details of the specific measures which might be introduced. The Committee also agreed to pass copies of the petition to the Scottish Parliament Cross-Party Group on Agriculture and Horticulture, the Clerk to the Transport and Environment Committee, for information only, and to Scott Barrie MSP in relation to his Proposed Members Bill.
PE505 Petition by Robbie the Pict on behalf of the Scottish Peoples Mission, calling for the Scottish Parliament to take the necessary steps to return the Stone of Scone to the community of Scone.
The Committee agreed to write to the Executive and VisitScotland seeking comments on the issues raised in the petition, with a particular request for views on the possibility and merits of reviewing the decision to locate the Stone at Edinburgh Castle.
PE496 Petition by Mr George McAuley on behalf of the UK Men’s Movement, calling for the Scottish Parliament to investigate the Scottish Executive’s handling of its recent domestic abuse advertising strategy.
The Committee agreed to write to the Executive seeking its views in relation to the issues raised in the petition, together with information on the proposed research into domestic abuse against males.
PE501 Petition by Mr James Duff calling for the Scottish Parliament to investigate and propose changes to current bankruptcy procedures to ensure that Judges and Sheriffs are unable to allow litigations to proceed when they are aware that the relevant statutory provisions are not being complied with.
The Committee agreed to write to the Executive seeking its comments on the issues raised in the petition, with a specific request for details of the future consultation on personal insolvency laws and procedures, and an update on the progress of the Enterprise Bill.
2. Current Petitions: The Committee reviewed progress in relation to current petitions. The following issues were discussed:
PE420 Petition by Councillor Sam Campbell calling for the Scottish Parliament to take the necessary steps to re-regulate the bus service in Scotland to enable rural communities that depend on it to have an adequate bus service.
The Committee considered a response from Midlothian Council in relation to the issues raised and agreed to copy this to the Executive with a request for comments on its contents.
PE445 Petition by Stella R Anderson calling for the Scottish Parliament to examine financial discrepancies between the terms of a Toll Order and those of an assignation statement, both relating to a scheme on the A87 to Skye, to allow the charging of tolls on a trunk road.
The Committee considered responses from the Executive and Lord Advocate in relation to the issues raised and agreed to write again to the Executive seeking clarification on a number of matters.
PE447 Petition by Mr Gregor McIntyre calling for the Scottish Parliament to take the necessary steps to put in place across Scotland all necessary structures and regulations to ensure that local community volunteers are able to develop or pursue local health and social inclusion projects in parallel with or independently of the strategic objectives of statutory agencies.
The Committee considered a response from the Executive in relation to the issues raised and agreed to copy the response to both the petitioners and to Des McNulty MSP, seeking their comments on the Joint Health Improvement Plan process.
PE462 Petition by Mrs Margie Currie calling for the Scottish Parliament to ask Scottish Natural Heritage (a) to provide the original data sheets for all alleged hen harrier sites on Arran for the purpose of verification and (b) to give details of the changes in data collection and presentation procedures which it proposes for all Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) designations in future to ensure adequate corroboration.
PE463 Petition by Councillor Donald Manford calling for the Scottish Parliament (a) to ask Scottish Natural Heritage why it allegedly published erroneous information about local public opinion on the Sound of Barra consultation that it carried out for the Scottish Executive and (b) to verify that SNH’s general procedures for consultations of this sort comply with the duty imposed on it by Sections 3(1)(e) and (f) of the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act.
PE464 Petition by Robert Cunyngham Brown calling for the Scottish Parliament to ask Scottish Natural Heritage to provide (a) scientific justification for the list of raingoose Special Protection Areas it has classified or is in the process of classifying and (b) details of the measures it took when compiling that list, to satisfy the statutory duty to take account of the interests of landowners, crofters and local communities.
The Committee considered responses from the Executive, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Advisory Committee on Sites of Special Scientific Interest (ACSSSI) in relation to the issues raised in petitions PE462, PE463 and PE464. The Committee agreed to invite SNH and the ACSSI to appear before the Committee to present their views and to hold an additional meeting for this purpose before the summer recess. The Committee also agreed to link and further consider the related petition PE246 with these petitions.
PE477 Petition Mr John McManus, on behalf of Miscarriages Of Justice Organisation, calling for the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Executive to provide assistance in setting up an aftercare programme in the form of a half way home to help people who have been wrongfully incarcerated and have served long terms of imprisonment or whose conviction has been annulled at the appeal court.
The Committee considered a response from the Executive in relation to the issues raised and agreed to copy this response to the petitioners with a request for their comments on its contents.
PE481 Petition by Mr Bill Wright, on behalf of the Cairngorms Campaign, calling for the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Executive to ensure that powers for the Cairngorms National Park Authority are as comprehensive as those for the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
The Committee considered a response from the Executive in relation to the issues raised and agreed to ask it to ensure that a copy of the consultation document on the draft Designation Order for the Cairngorms National Park is sent to the petitioners. The Committee further agreed to refer the petition to the Rural Development Committee with the recommendation that it is taken into account in due course as part of the draft Designation Order.
PE483 Petition by Mr Duncan Shields calling for the Scottish Parliament to review the membership of the Justice 1 Committee.
The Committee considered a response from the Convener of the Justice 1 Committee in relation to the issues raised and agreed to seek clarification on a number of matters.
3. Convener’s Report: The Convener reported that the next meeting of the Committee, due to be held at 2.45pm on Thursday 6 June, would be broadcast by the BBC for its Holyrood Live programme. The Convener also reported that he had received correspondence from Chalmers Hospital Action Group praising the Committee’s consideration of its petition (PE407) and indicating that it had resulted in a positive outcome.
The meeting closed at 12.23 pm.
Steve Farrell
Clerk to the Committee
MINUTES
9th Meeting, 2002 (Session 1)
Tuesday 21st May 2002
Present:
Dorothy-Grace Elder
Helen Eadie (Deputy Convener)
Winnie Ewing
Phil Gallie
Rhoda Grant
John Farquhar Munro
The meeting opened at 10.04 am.
1. Consideration of new petitions: Members considered and agreed action on the following new petitions:
PE497 Petition by Mr James and Mrs Pamela McDougall, calling for the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Executive, following its 2000 consultation exercise, to implement legislation at the earliest opportunity to alleviate the nuisance caused by hedges.
The Committee agreed to write to the Executive seeking its comments on the issues raised in the petition, with a specific request for information on the likely timescale for its proposed legislation on so-called ‘nuisance hedges, and details of the specific measures which might be introduced. The Committee also agreed to pass copies of the petition to the Scottish Parliament Cross-Party Group on Agriculture and Horticulture, the Clerk to the Transport and Environment Committee, for information only, and to Scott Barrie MSP in relation to his Proposed Members Bill.
PE505 Petition by Robbie the Pict on behalf of the Scottish Peoples Mission, calling for the Scottish Parliament to take the necessary steps to return the Stone of Scone to the community of Scone.
The Committee agreed to write to the Executive and VisitScotland seeking comments on the issues raised in the petition, with a particular request for views on the possibility and merits of reviewing the decision to locate the Stone at Edinburgh Castle.
PE496 Petition by Mr George McAuley on behalf of the UK Men’s Movement, calling for the Scottish Parliament to investigate the Scottish Executive’s handling of its recent domestic abuse advertising strategy.
The Committee agreed to write to the Executive seeking its views in relation to the issues raised in the petition, together with information on the proposed research into domestic abuse against males.
PE501 Petition by Mr James Duff calling for the Scottish Parliament to investigate and propose changes to current bankruptcy procedures to ensure that Judges and Sheriffs are unable to allow litigations to proceed when they are aware that the relevant statutory provisions are not being complied with.
The Committee agreed to write to the Executive seeking its comments on the issues raised in the petition, with a specific request for details of the future consultation on personal insolvency laws and procedures, and an update on the progress of the Enterprise Bill.
2. Current Petitions: The Committee reviewed progress in relation to current petitions. The following issues were discussed:
PE420 Petition by Councillor Sam Campbell calling for the Scottish Parliament to take the necessary steps to re-regulate the bus service in Scotland to enable rural communities that depend on it to have an adequate bus service.
The Committee considered a response from Midlothian Council in relation to the issues raised and agreed to copy this to the Executive with a request for comments on its contents.
PE445 Petition by Stella R Anderson calling for the Scottish Parliament to examine financial discrepancies between the terms of a Toll Order and those of an assignation statement, both relating to a scheme on the A87 to Skye, to allow the charging of tolls on a trunk road.
The Committee considered responses from the Executive and Lord Advocate in relation to the issues raised and agreed to write again to the Executive seeking clarification on a number of matters.
PE447 Petition by Mr Gregor McIntyre calling for the Scottish Parliament to take the necessary steps to put in place across Scotland all necessary structures and regulations to ensure that local community volunteers are able to develop or pursue local health and social inclusion projects in parallel with or independently of the strategic objectives of statutory agencies.
The Committee considered a response from the Executive in relation to the issues raised and agreed to copy the response to both the petitioners and to Des McNulty MSP, seeking their comments on the Joint Health Improvement Plan process.
PE462 Petition by Mrs Margie Currie calling for the Scottish Parliament to ask Scottish Natural Heritage (a) to provide the original data sheets for all alleged hen harrier sites on Arran for the purpose of verification and (b) to give details of the changes in data collection and presentation procedures which it proposes for all Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) designations in future to ensure adequate corroboration.
PE463 Petition by Councillor Donald Manford calling for the Scottish Parliament (a) to ask Scottish Natural Heritage why it allegedly published erroneous information about local public opinion on the Sound of Barra consultation that it carried out for the Scottish Executive and (b) to verify that SNH’s general procedures for consultations of this sort comply with the duty imposed on it by Sections 3(1)(e) and (f) of the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act.
PE464 Petition by Robert Cunyngham Brown calling for the Scottish Parliament to ask Scottish Natural Heritage to provide (a) scientific justification for the list of raingoose Special Protection Areas it has classified or is in the process of classifying and (b) details of the measures it took when compiling that list, to satisfy the statutory duty to take account of the interests of landowners, crofters and local communities.
The Committee considered responses from the Executive, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Advisory Committee on Sites of Special Scientific Interest (ACSSSI) in relation to the issues raised in petitions PE462, PE463 and PE464. The Committee agreed to invite SNH and the ACSSI to appear before the Committee to present their views and to hold an additional meeting for this purpose before the summer recess. The Committee also agreed to link and further consider the related petition PE246 with these petitions.
PE477 Petition Mr John McManus, on behalf of Miscarriages Of Justice Organisation, calling for the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Executive to provide assistance in setting up an aftercare programme in the form of a half way home to help people who have been wrongfully incarcerated and have served long terms of imprisonment or whose conviction has been annulled at the appeal court.
The Committee considered a response from the Executive in relation to the issues raised and agreed to copy this response to the petitioners with a request for their comments on its contents.
PE481 Petition by Mr Bill Wright, on behalf of the Cairngorms Campaign, calling for the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Executive to ensure that powers for the Cairngorms National Park Authority are as comprehensive as those for the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
The Committee considered a response from the Executive in relation to the issues raised and agreed to ask it to ensure that a copy of the consultation document on the draft Designation Order for the Cairngorms National Park is sent to the petitioners. The Committee further agreed to refer the petition to the Rural Development Committee with the recommendation that it is taken into account in due course as part of the draft Designation Order.
PE483 Petition by Mr Duncan Shields calling for the Scottish Parliament to review the membership of the Justice 1 Committee.
The Committee considered a response from the Convener of the Justice 1 Committee in relation to the issues raised and agreed to seek clarification on a number of matters.
3. Convener’s Report: The Convener reported that the next meeting of the Committee, due to be held at 2.45pm on Thursday 6 June, would be broadcast by the BBC for its Holyrood Live programme. The Convener also reported that he had received correspondence from Chalmers Hospital Action Group praising the Committee’s consideration of its petition (PE407) and indicating that it had resulted in a positive outcome.
The meeting closed at 12.23 pm.
Steve Farrell
Clerk to the Committee
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Scottish Parliament: Committees: Public Petitions: Minutes: Meeting 9, 2002
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