Petitioning the Scottish Parliament: Making your voice heard

Cant Get Enough!!

2011-05-16T08:40:00.002+01:00

If you 'Can’t Get Enough' (as Paul Rodgers and Bad Company would say) of Scottish Parliament blogging and are a Gaelic speaker, you may be interested in the Parliament’s new Gaelic blog: Blog Pàrlamaid na h-Alba.

Written by the Parliament’s Education and Community Outreach team, this new blog will feature news and information about the Parliament, focusing especially on parliamentary business and opportunities to engage with the Parliament.

So far the blog has been looking at the taking of the oaths/affirmations and the election of the Presiding officer. The Gaelic officers also plan to write a feature about the public petitions system shortly. That will be worth reading!

For more info, check out the Gaelic blog or contact our Gaelic officers.

Here I go again!

2011-05-11T14:44:00.002+01:00

As Archie Bell and the Drells once sang. Well, oath/affirmation this morning for the new 129 MSPs and election of new PO as I type. So we start the 4th session of the Parliament and fairly soon we will have a new PPC ready to start work.
Not that many new petitions arriving since the dissolution of the session 3 Parliament but I suspect that will change over the coming weeks. So what happens with new PPC? Well, there will be some new petitions for it to consider and of course there are the 43 current petitions 'left' by the session 3 PPC under the legacy arrangements.
We'll see how things pan out over the coming weeks in terms of new membership and meeting dates. Watch this space!
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

What are we doing?

2011-03-18T10:33:00.002Z

So, no more PPC meetings, dissolution next Tuesday, surely we are just sitting about doing nothing? Well, no! Petitions continue to come in, we will be looking at them and discussing the terms with petitioners before they are lodged. We will be planning for the Session 4 Committee, what will it do at first few meetings, what new petitions to timetable. We are also dealing with the current petitions which the Session 3 committee is leaving for the S4 committee under the legacy arrangements.
We'll be getting letters off to the Scottish Government and others shortly initiating responses, updates etc on these 43 legacy petitions so that we can timetable them to go to the S4 committee ASAP. Jings, all very efficient and forward thinking of us! You must be impressed surely!
We also have various 'in house' tasks to be getting on with so we will be busy. This is the same across all committee clerking teams, dealing with remaining issues of the S3 committee and preparing for the next.
Its been a cracking committee to clerk these last few years and a real pleasure. The committee has been very pro-active in evolving the petitions process, getting out and about around Scotland, trying different ways at encouraging participation in the process. Most important, the work done to secure some very important decisions as a result of petitions which people brought forward. Quite a fantastic thing to see, when someone raises an issue with their Parliament, the PPC looks at it, takes it up with the appropriate bodies, and secures positive actions as a result. Petitioner is happy, job done. Looking forward to the next Session.
Fergus, PPC clerk

Hold the front page!

2011-03-15T08:58:00.002Z

Couple of real page turner report published this morning. The Committee's Annual Report for the last parliamentary year and its Legacy Paper highlighting issues for the next PPC. Both reports available online only.
The Legacy Paper lists the 43 petitions being left for the Session 4 to continue consideration of. Tuesday 8 March was the final meeting of this committee before dissolution. Great committee to clerk, some fantastic work discussing some really interesting topics and dealing with some really nice petitioners. Its been memorable.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

End of an era

2011-03-08T08:09:00.002Z

Well, the end of an era this afternoon. An occasion as symbolic as a new album by the Blue Nile (sigh, if only). The PPC has its final meeting of this third parliamentary session and what a big agenda to go out on. Three Ministers in first giving oral evidence on three petitions including school bus safety and banning mosquito devices, one further oral evidence session on the research findings on the display of lads mags petition, and 27 other petitions to be considered. Then the committee will consider its Annual Report for the last year and the legacy paper for the Session 4 committee. Phew!
Some memorable events these last four years and the petitions process goes from strength to strength. Many achievements by petitioners which should not be underestimated. Could be a long meeting and not a dry eye in the room at the end!
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Willkommen to Bundestag Petitions Committee

2011-03-02T08:37:00.002Z

PPC pleased to be hosting a visiting to the Scottish Parliament today of the Petitions Committee of the German Bundestag. Should be a very interesting discussion, learning more about the German system of petitioning (which features a dual ombudsman function) and explaining more about the Scottish system. This is the latest in a series of meetings which have taken place over the years between the two committees as well as meetings between the PPC and various Lander petitions committees.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Biggest debate ever!

2011-02-23T13:20:00.002Z

Well, perhaps not but big debate in Chamber this PM with a PPC inspired debate on the work of the committee during session 3. Dissolution of the Parliament fast approaching so an opportunity for the committee to reflect on its achievements and work since 2007.
80 minute debate starting at 2.50 pm and you can watch live via Holyrood TV.
Possible highlighting of 'successful' petitions, engagements work, external meetings, favourite moments. Its all there. Hope you enjoy.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Meeting with Japanese House of Councillors

2010-12-13T14:35:00.002Z

Have a meetying today with officials from the Japanese House of Councillors. Looking forward to this. Received a list of topics to discuss should should be an interesting exchange of ideas between respective petitioning procedures in Scotland and Japan.

Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Update re PPC mtg 7 Dec

2010-12-07T11:02:00.004Z

PPC meeting expected to ahead this afternoon as the committee is quorate (need three members for the committee to undertake its business). However, the discussion on the time for all to be heard forum petition (PE1351) is expected to be deferred due to problems with members and Ministers availability.
Fergus, Clerk to PPC

Jings, crivvens, help ma boab!

2010-11-18T11:18:00.004Z

Not sure I ever thought I would get the chance to use these words in a 'clerky' work context. I guess blogs allow this!
You may have seen the muckle agenda which was published today for next Tuesday's truly bumper PPC meeting. 62 petitions on the agenda which must be some sort of record. I don't know why but that number has triggered the 'famous' chant circa 1974 World Cup-
"6 foot 2, eyes of blue, big Jim Holton's after you!"
Anyway, I will be overloading on finest Arabica before the 2.00 pm start to keep me going.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Well done Ryan (again)!

2010-11-11T07:44:00.005Z

Well done Ryan from all at the Public Petitions Committee. Ryan won at the Pride of Britain awards last night in London. Looked a bit lost for words at one point! Here's a photo of Ryan and his family with PPC members (John Wilson and Robin Harper (on left) and Bill Butler and Rhona Brankin (on right)) receiving his invitation to the awards ceremony a few weeks ago from some tall bloke (don't know who he is). Fantastic achievement Ryan and well done to you all.

Update on SYP event last week

2010-11-05T08:57:00.008Z

Photos taken by Andrew, the Parliament photographer are now available via this link. The password you need is petition (how original!). Here's a wee selection below from last Friday

Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Yet more history in the making!

2010-10-29T09:10:00.005+01:00

Yet more history in the making by the committee today (the committee of 'firsts'!). The PPC will be the first committee to hold a formal meeting in this Debating Chamber when it holds a meeting as part of the Scottish Youth Parliament conference. This is also the first time it has held a meeting to consider only petitions from a 'dedicated group' as the three petitions on the agenda are from young people. The other first is (I think) this will be the first time the PPC has met on a Friday (OK that one a bit weak!).
You can watch the meeting live via Holyrood TV. Meeting starts at 10.30 am. I think today will form another chapter in my memoirs!
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC
*UPDATE*
Here is a link to Holyrood TV interview with PPC COnvener and SYP Chair (sorry, not a live hyperlink so you need to paste URL into your browser)
http://vr-sp-archive.lbwa.verio.net/archive/291010_petitions_report.wmv

PPC mtg 26 October

2010-10-27T15:29:00.002+01:00

Well I have come to the conclusion that meetings of 3+ hours are the norm for the Committee now, particularly in the run up to Dissolution.
A first yesterday with the Committee hearing oral evidence from a UK government minister for the first time. Members indicating how useful the session with Mike Penning MP (minister at Dept for Transport); Stewart Stevenson MSP (Scottish Govt transport minister) and police representatives from Association of Chief Police Officers and ACPO Scotland was in taking forward the two petitions on school bus safety. Some helpful commitments to come back to the committee with more information.
So another first for this committee is having UK government minister giving evidence. More firsts on Friday when the PPC has its second meeting this week. This time in the Debating Chamber as part of the Scottish Youth Parliament conference. Post to follow on that.

Understanding Parliament conference and social media

2010-10-07T15:16:00.002+01:00

One of the workshops at last Saturday's Understanding and Influencing your Parliament conference was on the use of social media. Big thanks to Peter Cruickshank from the International Teledemocracy Centre at Edinburgh Napier Uni (folk behind e-petitioning) and petitioner Bob Thomsom who took part. Sorry I couldn't get to this but I was at the petitions workshop. Anyway, Bob and Lesley Thomsom who also took part have both blogged on this.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

PPC meeting Tuesday 5 October

2010-10-06T08:12:00.002+01:00

Phew, phew, phew! PPC meeting yesterday lasted 3 1/2 hours . Jings, crivvens, help ma boab. Some very interesting discussions on the petitions. I've made the point before about the breadth of topics but quite amazing how the discussion jumps from one topic to the next to the next etc.
Lots of follow up points which we will be taking forward today with around 60 letters going out to various organisations. Most of yesterday's petitions probably coming back to PPC at end November which is likely to be a long agenda with around 40+ petitions being considered at 23 November meeting. I feel a sickie coming on!
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Understanding Parliament conference

2010-10-02T11:53:00.005+01:00

Well, the second Understanding and Influencing your Parliament conference now underway. Opened by the Presiding Officer with some interactive voting. Interesting results on people's awareness of the Parliament and the methods available to get involved in what goes on here. Of course, that is what today is all about, to explain and clarify.

Colleague David McGill, who heads up the Legislation team here, made a really good contribution particularly on petitions. David used to Clerk the PPC a few years ago - pinnacle of his career!
Going back in for next session when Ron Beaty will be talking about his petition and his school bus safety campaign. Move into workshops this afternoon so will give a wee update before then.

Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Understanding and Influencing your Parliament conference

2010-09-30T09:37:00.003+01:00

This Saturday (2 October) sees a big event in the Parliament with the second Understanding and Influencing your Parliament conference. The conference is targeted at local (i.e. community-based) voluntary and charity-sector organisations, civic groups and campaign organisations. Around 150 attendees from across Scotland are expected to attend the event aimed at developing effective skills to allow such groups to have their voice heard at Holyrood.
Petitions will play a central role in the conference. One of the main speakers in the Chamber on Saturday morning is Ron Beaty who has petition on improving school bus safety. Ron will talk about his campaign and how his work so far. He will also take part in the petition workshop in the afternoon along with petitioner/campaigner Douglas McKenzie . The workshop will be chaired by Rhona Brankin MSP, the PPC Convener (and I will be there!).
There will also be a social media workshop where participants can discuss and learn about different forms of social media (eg blogs) and how these can be used as a way of sharing information and promoting an issue. Taking part in that workshop is Bob Thomson who has a petition on availability of Low Dose Naltrexone and Peter Cruickshank from the International Teledemocracy Centre at Edinburgh Napier University. ITC were the folk wot developed the e-petition system (and of course the Scottish Parliament was the first legislature in the world to accept e-petitions back in 2000).
I am going to blog from the conference and get some photos on to the site which I hope you find helpful.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Tuesday's meeting

2010-09-30T09:28:00.002+01:00

We return to Holyrood and Tuesday will see another committee meeting. Usual bumper agenda.
First petition up is PE1319 on improving youth football. The committee will take oral evidence from Henry McLeish who chaired the Scottish football review. Then there are six new petitions with oral evidence in respect of the first two. The Committee then moves back to current petitions with 20 current petitions before it.
No more external meetings planned now so remainder of session will be focus on dealing with the volume of petitions. In committee room 1 on Tuesday, usual 2.00 pm start on Holyrood TV

Time for Reflection Wednesday 22 September

2010-09-21T17:08:00.004+01:00

Petitioner Tina McGeever will lead Time for Reflection in the Parliament Chamber on Wednesday 22 September. TfR is the slot each Wednesday before the commencement of business in the Chamber when an invited speaker addresses the meeting of the Parliament for up to 4 minutes. Tina as you know has been campaigning to improve the system for accessing cancer treatment drugs on the NHS and has successfully brought about many important improvements in the systems and procedures use by health boards across Scotland. Her petition goes back before the PPC in November for an update from the Scottish Government on the roll out of guidance to health boards earlier this year.
You can watch TfR live, 2.30 pm, via Holyrood TV.
Well done Tina. Well deserved!
Quick update: Here is Tina at TfR
You can read what was said by clicking here or view the proceedings again via Holyrood TV archive

Well done Arran High School

2010-09-14T07:45:00.013+01:00

Well, Arran may have had horizontal rain yesterday but the High School did the PPC proud with a memorable external meeting. Piped into the school on arrival and then, after a few words of welcome from the head teacher, Douglas Auld, young Struan Robertson recited some Burns. Now it isnt everyday (or in fact ever!) that you have some Burns at a committee meeting. Katy Simmons and Scott Currie presented their petition to the PPC members and then spoke informatively and confidently about the travel costs and problems faced by young people in remote and rural areas. We have some photos of the pupils handing their petition over to the Committee on our Picasa webpage. After the formal meeting, the PPC members held a 'lively' Q&A session with the 5th and 6th year pupils. A quick lunch and then the afternoon ferry back to the mainland. Decided against going on to deck as I may have been blown back to Arran (or beyond). This was the last external PPC meeting but a really good one to end with so thank you to everyone at the school who made it work so well.
You can watch an extract of Katy and Scott's presentation to the Committee below

Arran committee meeting on 13 September.

2010-09-03T17:33:00.005+01:00

The PPC will be visiting Arran on 13 September as part of its commitment to meet people throughout Scotland.
The meeting will start at 9.30 am at Arran High School to which you are welcome to participate and attend. Below is a link to a news release about this meeting. As you will see, the MSPs are very much looking forward to this meeting and certainly hope that you are able to come along and watch a meeting of your Parliament at work.
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/nmCentre/news/news-comm-10/ppc10-s3-001.htm
The agenda for the meeting will be published next week but it will largely be split into the consideration of new petition and current (those that are ‘in the system’). Some of these may be of a particular interest to you for example the petition from the RSPB on the illegal killing of birds of prey. Pupils at the High School are also working on a petition which they will present and speak about at the meeting. This will give the meeting a particular local flavor.
We hope you will be able to attend and if you have any questions do get in touch by phoning Fergus (Clerk) on 0131 348 5186.

1st Committee meeting after recess

2010-09-03T17:23:00.005+01:00

The summer recess ends today which means that official business in Parliament resumes on Monday. The PPC has had a very busy summer with around 40 new petitions coming. Some of these will be considered at our next meeting on Tuesday 7 September. Here's a link to the agenda . As usual we will start at 2.00pm and the Committee will consider 13 new petitions (8 of them are identical and relate to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman) and 16 current petitions.
We will be hearing evidence on 2 new petitions, PE1336 about saving West Highland wild salmons and trouts and petition PE1340 on giving greater protection to Scotland's trees.
We hope to see you on the day but if you can't you can always follow the proceedings on your computer by logging onto Holyrood TV.

Meeting with Malawi delegation

2010-08-19T08:36:00.002+01:00

PPC members Robin Harper MSP and Nigel Don MSP meet with the Hon Jones Chingola MP, First Deputy Speaker of the Malawi National Assembly this morning. The FDS is visiting the Parliament this week for a series of meetings with MSPs and officials. He is also attending the Festival of Politics event at lunchtime on Malawi .
The meeting this morning follows up previous discussions held on the Scottish public petitions system with Malawi MPs and officials. The FDS is interested in learning more about the public petitions process as a positive method of encouraging people to make their voice heard. I had the very real pleasure of going to Malawi two years ago to work at the Assembly so it's good to see some of the issues discussed then moving forward. Since visiting I have become hooked on the lovely Mzuzu coffee. You must try it!
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

What are we doing?

2010-08-04T07:59:00.003+01:00

Parliament of course in recess but work goes on. Proposed petitions continue to come in for us to look and and consider. We liaise with the petitioners over the wording and information they have set out in their draft petition to ensure that it is in the best shape possible before it goes before the PPC. Is the purpose of the petition clear enough? is more information needed? Obviously we want to ensure a full and informed consideration of the petition so it is important that all the information is there.
Of course with no committee meetings it means that we can get a wee bit of a backlog of new petitions but we forward plan to ensure that we then get these before the committee ASAP after the recess ends. First meeting is 7 September and the agenda for that is agreed (and its a big one!). Papers will go out as usual the week before (Wednesday 1st) so watch this space to see what is coming forward for that meeting.
Of course you can see some of the new petitions on the e-petition site

Meeting in Arran

2010-07-16T17:58:00.005+01:00

The PPC will be meeting at Arran High School on Monday 13 September and will start at 9.30 am. It will consider new and current petitions and it is hoped that some of these petitions will originate from the Arran / North Ayrshire area.

What characterizes the PPC is that it is a public facing committee and that it is committed to furthering the opportunities for engagement with the public. Once the formal business is finished, part of the proceedings will be turned over to a Q&A session (around 11.30 am).

Anyone in the audience will have the opportunity to discuss the work of the Parliament with the nine MSPs on the PPC, but also learn more about public petitioning, how to engage with the Parliament, what is the relevance of the Parliament to community groups, voluntary bodies, associations, etc.

The success of the meeting does, to an extent, depend on getting people to come along and participate. That is why the Committee hopes you will be able to attend on the 13th September. More details on the actual petitions the Committee will discuss on the day will emerge nearer the time (the Committee's meeting agenda is published on http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/petitions/meetings.htm).

PPC mtg Tuesday 15 June

2010-06-11T08:36:00.002+01:00

Agenda and papers for next Tuesday's meeting now published on PPC webpage. You will see that committee is back to more 'traditional' format with new and current petitions, including one oral presentation. In CR1 if you want to watch via Holyrood TV.
This is the second last committee meeting before the summer recess (final meeting on 29 June).
Fergus, Clerk to PPC

John Smith Fellows

2010-06-10T07:37:00.003+01:00

The Convener will meet with the John Smith Fellows this morning to discuss the public petitions process. This is an annual event for the PPC, meeting the new intake of delegates. Around 20 or so this year from Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan. The delegates attended a reception in the Parliament on Tuesday evening hosted by the Presiding Officer.
Fergus Clerk to the PPC

Committee's annual report

2010-06-09T08:52:00.003+01:00

Committee annual report published this morning. A best seller by the weekend I reckon. The report sets out the work of the committee over the parliamentary year (May-May) and there has been a lot. Interesting thing about doing these reports is the things you forgot the committee did. Lots of activity by it in terms of petitions considered, positive outcomes achieved, engagement work with external meetings and with delegations. All this crammed into 13 pages!
Hope you enjoy.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Three in a row?

2010-06-01T11:23:00.003+01:00

Another short agenda for this afternoon's PPC meeting so I reckon a short meeting (1 hour?). No new petitions, no oral presentations, 'just' 14 current petitions. However, there is also the committee's annual report to discuss. Committee has tried to make the report more visually appealing with more narrative about its activities over the last parliamentary year and some photographs. I reckon it looks good but then I'm biased.
Usual format this afternoon, 2.00 pm start and live on Holyrood TV (CR1) as per.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

How is this happening!?

2010-05-18T17:33:00.002+01:00

Another 'short' meeting today. That's two on the trot when the committee has got through all the petitions in under 2 hours. Although we continue to receive a good number of petitions, some of these are on the e-petition site at present and others we are still in discussion with the petitioner so they are not ready to go before the committee at a meeting.
I don't think there will be any new petitions at the next meeting on 1 June but I suspect 'normal service' will resume at the 15 and 29 June meetings, the last two before the summer recess, when the committee will look to get a good number of new petitions before it.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Cancer drugs petition

2010-05-17T14:37:00.002+01:00

Further good news and move in the right direction on improving access to cancer treatment drugs which Tina McGeever has been promoting through her petition. The Scottish Government has today written to all NHS boards regarding the 'Introduction and availability of newly licensed medicines in the NHS in Scotland'. Also piece on BBC news.
This was on the back of the recent discussions at PPC meetings at which we considered and commented on a draft of the guidance now issued in final form.
Frank McAveety MSP, PPC Convener

Bavarian Parliament visit

2010-05-14T08:26:00.006+01:00

A very interesting and useful discussion yesterday with our friends from the Bavarian Parliament. I hope they all enjoyed their week long visit to Scotland. As well as meeting with PPC members to discuss public petitioning, the delegation was particularly interested in justice related issues and visited Barlinnie Prison, Strathclyde Police, met with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and others during their time here.

I was pleased to take part in a short interview for Holyrood TV with the Hans Joachim Werner MdL who is my opposite number on the Committee for Supplications and Appeals. This is available on the main Parliament website but we have added a link to it here.
Frank McAveety MSP, PPC Convener

Bavarian visit

2010-05-11T17:06:00.002+01:00

You will know that the Committee for Supplications and Appeals (petitions committee) of the Bavarian State Parliament is visiting Scotland this week. A big welcome to them. They have a series of meetings lined up this week but of course the highlight will be the meeting with the PPC on Thursday! Lots of issues to get through including e-petitioning, format for committee meetings, committee information gathering techniques. Looking forward to exchanging ideas and views. More details to follow.
Frank McAveety MSP, PPC Convener

Well done Ryan

2010-05-06T07:54:00.003+01:00

You will recall the petition we considered from Ryan McLaughlin about new guidelines on vitamin D supplementation used in tackling MS. Ryan was a remarkable young petitioner who features on the front cover of our Making your voice heard leaflet we published last year (the photo was taken when Ryan and hundreds of other 'Bravehearts' marched down to the Parliament to hand over his petition).

Well Ryan recently won the European Taekwondo Championship (following on from his mum, a previous champion). From all at the PPC, well done Ryan. Well deserved!

Frank McAveety MSP, PPC Convener

Visiting delegations

2010-05-05T08:10:00.002+01:00

I know we posted a few weeks ago that members of the Petitions Committee of the German Bundestag were coming over for a meeting with the PPC members. Alas, the volcanic cloud/airline situation postponed that meeting last week but we do hope to meet with the committee later this year. There are some features of the German petitions process we are particularly interested in. A big disappointment for us but an understandable reason as to why the members couldn't make the trip.
However, we are meeting with members of the Petitions Committee of the Bavarian State Parliament on Thursday (13th) next week which I know will be of interest and benefit to us all. The delegation is in Scotland all next week for a series of meetings.
Before then I look forward to meeting with Judy Spence MP who is the Leader of the House in the Queensland Parliament. She is visiting the Parliament today in her capacity as Chair of the Committee System Review Committee and we will be having a blether this afternoon about public petitioning and, specifically, the role of the PPC. On behalf of the PPC I submitted a contribution to their inquiry which I hope will be of interest. You will know that we have good relationships with legislatures in Australia for example, we have held a couple of videoconferences with the Petitions Committee in the House of Representatives and met with a number of elected representatives from other state parliaments such as Tasmania and Western Australia. Of course Queensland, like us, were the early pioneers of e-petitioning and this is something we will no doubt discuss later today. Bet the weather is warmer there than it is here!
Frank McAveety MSP, Convener PPC

Inside Parliament

2010-05-05T07:56:00.003+01:00

The PPC meeting yesterday finished earlier than anticipated so I managed to stop by the education centre here to meet some teachers visiting the Parliament this week as part of the 'Inside Parliament' programme. Great idea this and shows a further willingness and commitment to open the doors of the Parliament and show folk what it does and how it can help. It was good to meet with some of the teachers taking part. I hope everyone involved enjoys their time with us this week.
Frank McAveery MSP, Convener PPC

Yesterday's meeting

2010-05-05T07:48:00.003+01:00

Well I said I hope the committee wouldn't have another 4 hour meeting like it did on 20 April and it didn't. Only 1 3/4 hours. I've had hair cuts that have taken longer (not now though!). Two oral presentations yesterday with a lot of members interested in the RSPB petition (not least as four of them are members of the RSPB!). I think we are the point where petitions considered by the committee will not come back before them until after the summer recess.
Committee also agreed some changes to its previously agreed work programme. Next meeting is on Tuesday 18 May here at Holyrood. Next external meeting is Arran on Monday 20 September.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Meeting Tuesday 4 May

2010-04-28T16:20:00.003+01:00

I don't think committee is aiming to repeat the marathon 4 hour meeting on 20 April at its next meeting on Tuesday 4 May in CR1 (if you want to watch on Holyrood TV). Agenda and papers issued today, on PPC webpage tomorrow morning in usual place.
Only three new petitions with oral presentations on the first two-
PE1315 Stop the illegal killing of birds of prey (lodged by from RSPB Scotland - there was a lot of publicity about this when it was lodged) and
PE1323 Community Centres for Scottish Shia Muslims
Committee will also be discussing a revised work programme which will cover possible revisions to meeting dates for 2010, external meetings, and also work around the young petitioners meeting it will be holding. That is last agenda item.
Hoping for a straight forward meeting (don't I always!).
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

The Yangtze campaign, 1949

2010-04-22T15:41:00.001+01:00

Once again the Committee is showing how diverse the topic of petitions can be. This time, it is nothing less than the 1949 Yangtze campaign, thanks to William Leitch who petitioned the PPC only a couple of months ago. If you want to know more about this petition then just go to the PPC website to read petition PE1312.
Mr Leitch spared no efforts in trying to find archives describing the Yangtze campaign and the result is an astonishing collection of videos made between May and November 1949. Among them you will find the original footage of the Amethyst heroes in Hong Kong, the Yang Tse survivors reaching Shangai and London greeting the Amethyst men. All very interesting and informative videos.
Yang Tse survivors reach Shangai - 2.5.1949

Welcome Amethyst! - 3.11.1949

Jack French in his hometown Ashburton - 7.11.1949

The Amethyst returns in triumph - 11.08.1949

H.M.S London returns from the Far East - 15.09.1949

London greets the Amethyst men -17.11.1949

Amethyst heroes in Hong Kong - 18.08.1949

Gibraltar greets the Amethyst - 31.10.1949

Further progress with cancer drugs petition

2010-04-20T09:39:00.003+01:00

We discussed Tina McGeever's cancer drugs petition again today and made further progress. The Scottish Government sent us a copy of the draft guidance it plans to issue (later this month?) to NHS boards. This is intended to provide a framework to which boards must align local policies on access to new medicines. It also contains specific advice on what is now called individual patient treatment requests (previously exceptional prescribing requests, a name we didnt like)). The Cabinet Secretary was keen to hear the Committee’s, and Tina McGeever’s, views on this guidance before it was issued given the impetus for all of this has been the petition and the Committee’s inquiry report.
We had previously provided comments (see 2 March meeting) and were pleased that the CS had reacted positively to these as members said earlier today. We think this guidance is a big positive step forward and testament to the effort and hard work Tina has put into this.
We also considered a draft of a new leaflet to go out to patients aimed at providing information on how new medicines are made available. I will be writing to the Cab Sec tomorrow about this (the letter will be published). Lets focus on another important step forward with this petition which will bring further improvements to cancer patients and others.
Frank McAveety MSP, Convener

Coming up

2010-04-14T17:02:00.003+01:00

Was that not the title of a Paul McCartney song? Bother, now got tune in my head!
The committee is pleased to be hosting a visit in a couple of weeks time from the Petitions Committee of the German Bundestag. This should be a very interesting meeting and follows on from meetings which the previous committees have had (September 2001 and September 2006) to discuss issues of mutual interest.
Some fascinating elements to the German petitioning process. The committee (the Petitionsausschuss) describes the petitions process as 'the Parliament's seismograph' which is a very neat way of describing petitioning. The committee there fulfills more of an ombudsman function and considers petitions on individual cases whereas 'Scottish' petitions must have a national dimension to them. It terms of size, you cannot compare. The Petitionsausschuss will consider over 20,000 petitions a year (jings, I would never get home!), membership is around 28. However, fundamental to both the German and Scottish systems is upholding and preserving the petitions process for citizens and providing a proper facility for them to raise isues with their parliament. Here, it reflects founding principles - access, participation, sharing power.
I'll post nearer the time but, as I say, it will be an interesting and useful discussion to which we are all looking forward to.
A couple of weeks later the Petitions Committee of the Bavarian State Parliament will visit. As I understand it, the petitions process in each of the 16 Lander reflects the process in the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) but obviously the states will perhaps be of a more comparable size to Scotland. A lot to learn from these meetings.
Fergus

Next meeting

2010-04-14T16:54:00.002+01:00

20 April, next Tuesday, is the 6th meeting this year of the committee. Agenda and papers issued today and will; be on committee's website tomorrow morning. Just to give you a wee taster, the committee will hear oral presentations on-
PE1319 Improving youth football
PE1322 Dance teaching and coaching in schools and colleges
PE1308 Publicly funded trade missions to Israel
There are 4 further new petitions to be discussed that day (in CR1 if you want to follow via live webstream on Holyrood TV)
There are 18 current petitions down for discussion including continuing consideration to Tina McGeever's petition (PE1108). Usual amazing array of topics.
Meeting starts at the usual 2.00 pm, reckon 3 hours for this meeting if not a wee bit longer. Phew!
Fergus Clerk to PPC

The Sun Aint Gonna...

2010-03-30T15:46:00.003+01:00

... Shine Anymore as the Walker Brothers sang. Jings, this weather. Even the ducks are wearing oilskins!
You will have picked up that Parliament in recess this week and next. However, as we always point out, work goes on. We are pulling all the written submissions together for the petitions to go before the committee at its next meeting on 20 April. Probably around 7 new and 15 or so current petition. Agenda and papers will be published on Wednesday 14 April on committee's webpage.
I reckon around 150 petitions will be considered by the committee between 20 April and last meeting before summer recess on 29 June. Summer, now there's a word people don't use much in Scotland.
Fergus

Petitions in Australia

2010-03-24T07:43:00.002Z

For those who follow all things petitions (now there's an exclusive club) you may want to read the report by the Petitions Committee of the Australian House of Representatives about the introduction of e-petitioning. The government there has still to respond to this report so not sure what will happen next and when but I'll keep an eye out. I know the three of us will want to know!
Certainly the PPC has been very interested in developments in Australia over recent years with the federal parliament and at state level for example in Queensland (which of course has had e-petitioning for quite a while now) and Western Australia. Always good to learn from others so I will be interested in how this goes forward.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

What we do

2010-03-23T08:31:00.003Z

The next meeting of the committee is on Tuesday 20 April here at Holyrood (2.00 pm start). Now we aint gonna be sitting about doing nothing. There are around 110 current petitions before the committee at present so we will be looking to move these along through the gathering of written evidence as requested by the committee. In between meetings most (all) of our time is spent working with people who want to lodge a petition (giving advice on the wording, seeking more information etc) and looking at the written material that comes in on those petitions in the system.
The papers for the 20 April meeting will go out on the 13th. Probably about 7 new petitions and around 18 current for consideration that day. I reckon most of the meetings between now and summer recess will be the same volume. Jings!
There are other issues we are looking at. The committee will be hosting a couple of delegations in the next couple of months (details to follow), work on the redevelopment of the e-petition site, further external meetings of the committee to arrange, the young petitioners meeting later this year. I don't have a T-bird but its still fun, fun, fun!
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Anstruther meeting update

2010-03-19T09:45:00.007Z

As promised, here is the video (click on link below) made last Monday at the committee's external meeting at Waid Academy in Anstruther. Happy viewing!

Anstruther Film

Fergus
PS: Remember to visit our Picasa page to see photos from Monday
PPS: The Official Report for Monday (the oral transcript of what was said) is now available on the committee's webpage

Well done Waid Academy!

2010-03-16T08:20:00.007Z

Well done to all at Waid Academy for a cracking meeting yesterday. There's a lot of work to put together an external meeting with laying out the hall, catering, putting up with us during a school day but you did a great job. A fantastic musical welcome with pipers and all set up the committee members nicely.

The Question Time session just after lunch was, shall we say, lively! I hope the pupils and the teachers found this direct questioning of MSPs useful. Don't think you were left in any doubt of the views of the MSPs to the questions asked.
Lots of photos taken yesterday which I will post up on to our Picasa page - should have these later this morning. I'll paste some of them on to this post.

Well done also the 5 petitioners who spoke to the committee about their petitions. We'll start working on taking these petitions forward - details via each petition page on the committee's website
PE1317

PE1318

You can see lots more photos from yesterday's meeting via our Picasa page
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Gone fishin'!

2010-03-15T08:24:00.002Z

Well, not quite but committee off to Anstruther in Fife for meeting today. Meeting starts at 10.30 am and will likely run for couple of hours anyway. Venue is Waid Academy (meeting will be in main hall in the school).
These external meetings are always really good occasions with good feedback from the audience. Tends to be a different atmosphere than meetings here at Holyrood (more relaxed perhaps).
The pupils at Waid have submitted their own petitions which the committee will consider and will hear from the pupils-
PE1317 Protecting the rights of school age workers by Paul Dryburgh and Ellen Cummings and
PE1318 Free access to public leisure facilities for all children by Ronan Buist, Megan Lumsden and Daniel Swaddle
The agenda for the meeting is on the webpage.
Alas no live picture feed with external meeting but check out Holyrood TV in case there is a live sound feed.

We are leaving shortly for bus journey over. "Bags a seat at the back". Suddenly I'm back at school going on a day trip!
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Meeting next Monday in Anstruther

2010-03-11T09:23:00.002Z

We are all looking forward to the committee's next meeting (Monday 15th) at Waid Academy in Anstruther. I know the school has been putting a lot of work into the arrangements for this which we of course really appreciate.
The agenda for the meeting was published yesterday - see webpage. You'll notice couple of oral presentations on new petitions from the Waid pupils-
PE1317 Protecting the rights of school age workers by Paul Dryburgh and Ellen Cummings and
PE1318 Free access to public leisure facilities for all children by Ronan Buist, Megan Lumsden and Daniel Swaddle
Well done on submitting these petitions.
The meeting on Monday starts at 10.30 am and is in public. The meeting will probably finish around 12.30/45 pm. There will then be a 'Question Time' session which will be an opportunity for folk in the public gallery to ask the committee members questions e.g. about life as a MSP, what's the role of the Committee, general engagement and participation work etc).
The success of the meeting does, to an extent, depend on getting people to come along and participate. That is why the Committee hopes you will be able to attend. The meeting will take place in the school hall and it can accommodate around 150. If you wish to attend, you can book a ticket through this office (these are free). Please contact my colleague Eileen Martin (eileen.martin@scottish.parliament.uk). Tickets will also be available on the day.
We hope to see you at Waid on Monday.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Scottish Youth Parliament March conference

2010-03-07T16:15:00.002Z

I've just come back from chairing a session at the Scottish Youth Parliament's March conference in Coatbridge. First up, thanks to the SYP for inviting me along to chair your motions session today - hope I did OK!!
Four motions had been proposed by MSYPs which were debated and voted on. Three of the motions were suuccessful so well done to the three MSYPs who presented their cases extremely well and responded to some very well thought out and relevant questions. It was evident from the debates that took place on each motion that the MSYPs were well grounded in the issues and it was a pity that we didnt have more time to spend discussing them.
Anyway, it was a honour for me to take part and I look forward to the partnership betweeen the SYP and work which the PPC is doing in the months ahead.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Tina McGeever petition

2010-03-02T11:11:00.004Z

Another useful discussion today about Tina McGeever's access to cancer drugs petition. This was the first time we had discussed the petition since the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing gave evidence to us on 17 November 2009. At that meeting she agreed to send us a copy of the Scottish Government’s draft guidance to NHS boards on the introduction and availability of new medicines. This is intended to provide a framework to which boards must align local policies on access to new medicines. It also contains specific advice on what is now called individual patient treatment requests (previously exceptional prescribing requests). The Cab Sec was keen to hear the views of the Committee and Tina McGeever on this guidance before it was issued given the impetus for all of this has been the petition and our inquiry report.

Today we agreed our response back to the Cab Sec. While we had a some questions and made a number of points which the Scottish Government may wish to reflect on before it issues the new guidance, overall we think this will be another step in the right direction and demonstrates further action being taken to address the key issues which Tina raised in her petition. It has been really useful working with the government on this issue and for the important points which Tina raised to be taken seriously and for positive action to be taken as a result.
Frank McAveety MSP, Convener

The blog

2010-02-24T08:36:00.002Z

I'm trying to do a wee bit of tidying up of the front page of the blog (in case you notice something different). I want to make the links to other sources of information more visible so that it is easier for folk to navigate to the committee's webpage, the audioboo page, Picasa page etc.
Hope all will be sorted by end of the week.
Fergus

What's happening?

2010-02-24T08:24:00.002Z

Well, we prepare for next Tuesday's committee meeting with the papers going out today. These will be published on the website tomorrow (Thursday). Some of the 'big' petitions currently before the committee being disccussed on Tuesday. The Scottish Government housing minister Alex Neil MSP and Glasgow City Council leader Stephen Purcell will joing other witnesses in an evidence session on the petition from Govanhill Housing Association.
The committee will also consider the two petitions lodged on tackling knife crime. These are from Kelly McGee and John Muir. Those following this issue will be aware that the Justice Committee here is currently considering the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill which contains provisions relating to sentencing.
The committee will also continue its consideration of Tina McGeever's access to cancer treatment drugs petition on which a lot of progress has been made since the petition was first lodged two years ago.
As always, you can follow the meeting live (committee room 1) via Holyrood TV. Meetings starts at 2.00 pm with the Govanhill petition.

Tomorrow, the Convener meets with a delegation of parliamentarians from the Parliament of the Czech Republic to discuss the Scottish experience of petitions. A delagetion visited a coupe of years ago so there is continuing interest there in what we do here.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

E-petitions goes local

2010-02-23T17:46:00.003Z

For all you avid followers of all things e-petitions (that would be me and eh, me!) I see that East Lothian Council has today launched its own e-petition system.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

External meetings

2010-02-18T11:27:00.005Z

You will remember a while back I posted details of future external meetings of the committee. Just a wee update for you.
The meeting on Monday 15 March which was planned for St Sndrews will now take place at Waid Aacademy in Anstruther. The meeting will start at 10.30 am, all in public. More details to follow for those who want to come along to this.
This has put me in the mood for a bag of chips!
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Well done Ryan

2010-02-10T18:31:00.003Z

Well done Ryan McLaughlin with your petition yesterday afternoon. Some strong and positive coverage of what you achieved in the papers today-

Times http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7021318.ece

Scotsman http://news.scotsman.com/politics/Schoolboy39s-petition-success.6057747.jp

Herald

STV News http://news.stv.tv/scotland/156458-success-at-parliament-for-schoolboy-campaigner/

Evening Times http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/ryan-14-is-hailed-for-ms-campaign-1.1005395

and I believe USA TODAY! Remember us if you end up on Oprah!

Photo below of Ryan and family with committee members receiving the very first copy of the new Making your voice heard leaflet which features Ryan on the front cover

Fergus

Cue drum roll

2010-02-10T07:55:00.004Z

Well, the moment has arrived. Three new hi-tech ways of getting involved with the Scottish Parliament launched today by the committee.
A series of social media tools - ‘boos’ (digital sound recordings), texts and pod casts - will allow a greater number of people to access information on what a petition is, how to submit and support one and what happens to a petition during committee meetings. As part of this launch a new streamlined information leaflet, ‘Petitioning the Scottish Parliament: Making your voice heard’ will explain the petitions process more clearly and simply.
All of these initiatives come as a response to the committee’s inquiry into the public petitions process which ran from June 2008 to June 2009 and the thoughts and suggestions put forward by members of the public at committee meetings in Berwickshire (Duns), Glasgow (Easterhouse) and Aberdeenshire (Fraserburgh).
Below is a quote from the committee convener Frank McAveety MSP-

“We were the first parliament in the world to accept e-petitions back in 2000 and now in 2010 we hope to maintain our reputation for innovation by increasing the options that make it easier for people to access information and submit petitions.
“From today, you can download our new leaflet, pod cast versions of this in a range of different languages, support an e-petition by text and listen to committee updates at AudioBoo. We hope these outlets, alongside our blog, will allow us to share information more easily and in more formats with petitioners and those following petitions.”

The new ways of accessing information about the petitions process are:
Using the AudioBoo website – which allows users to post and share sound files (‘boos’). This could be a useful tool for the committee to provide quick updates after its meetings on the outcomes of individual petitions so individuals will be able to hear quickly and easily what happened. The first ‘boo’ is now available (apologies for this, but recorded by me! - I might have a face for radio but I aint got the voice!)
A new service will allow individuals to text in support for an e-petition via their mobile phone.
The new ‘Petitioning the Scottish Parliament: Making your voice heard’ leaflet has also been produced in a pod cast format which can be listened to on a mobile phone or PC. These, along with the script of each and the template for lodging a petition are available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, Mandarin, Punjabi, Urdu, Polish and Gaelic.
The front page of the new leaflet features Ryan McLaughlin who petitioned the Parliament about the provision of vitamin D supplementation to tackle MS. Ryan was presented with the very first copy of the new leaflet by the Committee Convener. His petition was considered by the Committee at its meeting yesterday.

After reading this, admit it, the rest of today will be an anti-climax for you all.

Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Cue fanfare

2010-02-09T08:22:00.002Z

With a trumpet fanfare worthy of Chuck Mangione (OK that was the flugelhorn) we head into this afternoon's marathon committee meeting. Only 45 petitions on the agenda and not the previously reported 46. Wow, what will I do with that 1 minute saving!
Follow live as per on the excellent Holyrood TV (CR1). No idea how long this meeting will last but would expect up to 3 hours anyway (as is usual).
Have the start of the Gladiator film in my head. "On my command, unleash petitions!"
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC
PS: Some announcements of new features being introduced by committee coming out tomorrow. Will make details available at 8.00 am tomorrow.

Power blackouts imminent!!

2010-01-28T10:31:00.002Z

The first band I ever saw in concert was Status Quo. Edinburgh Odeon, (June 1978 I think), row A, seat 15 (I still have all my concert tickets). Now you can imagine the sheer noise and power of being seated in the front row, right in front of a bank of 20 Marshall speakers. My ears have never been the same since! And the point is caller...!!!
Well, we have just issued the papers for the Committee next meeting on 9 February. There are 46 petitions on the agenda that day so, apologies to any PCs that crash or power surges caused as you try to access all this information. I am waiting for an e-mail from out IT folk here to tell me my inbox in full (so how will I get your e-mail?!)
These are all current petitions - ones already in the system. This is something the committee does a couple of time a year to try and move some petitions along. There are probably around 120 petitions under active consideration by the committee at the moment. Anyway, you will be able to see the full agenda from Friday when it appears on the PPC webpage. I wont flag up any in particular as there are so many. Usual start time of 2.00 pm on the 9th for this meeting. Beer and sandwiches in reserve just in case! Now, where did I put my sawn off denim jacket...
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Still here!

2010-01-21T08:19:00.001Z

3 weeks into 2010 and this only the second post. "Shocking" as the judge in the brilliant Boston Legal would say!
Anyway, we haven't been sitting around doing zilch. We have next Tuesday's meeting when the committee will consider 6 new petitions. What, just 6! Yes, but it will be hearing oral presentations on 4 of these:
PE1307: Male victims of domestric abuse/violence
PE1303: Access to justice
PE1304: Safeguarding funding of charities
PE1305: Extension of the bowel cancer screening programme
The other two petitions are:
PE1301: Investigation of complaints against police
PE1306: Local public petitioning processes
Usual format, meeting starts at 2.00 pm on Tuesday in CR2 if you want to watch online via Holyrood TV. Papers are available via committee's webpage.
We are also busy preparing for a muckle meeting on 9 February when the committee will consider around 45 current petitions. Michty me! We are busy pulling everything together for this meeting as obviously we are dealing with twice the number of petitions the committee normally considers at a meeting. To give members more time to read the papers, we will be issuing end of next week.
Also finalising a few things which the committee hopes to announce in first week of February including a couple of innovative new IT based features. "Tell me more, tell me more" (as sung in 'Summer Nights'). Sorry, you will have to watch this space. We will be linking the announcement into the blog so you wont miss out.
Off for second gallon of coffee!
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

We are now back in building!

2010-01-06T16:57:00.003Z

Jings, crivvens, help ma boab! What about this weather!
Anyway, a guid 2010 to one and all. We head into first committee meeting of the new year next Tuesday faster than my car skidding out of garage yesterday morning.
Agenda and papers now published and available on website. As you will see, the committee has two oral evidence sessions. First up, oral evidence from the Minister for Environment on the banning snares petition followed by a round table discussion on protection of national and regional parks petition. Usual arrangements - meeting starts at 2.00 pm, broadcast live on Holyrood TV (committee room 1).
Fergus

We have left the building

2009-12-23T08:44:00.002Z

Well, not quite, but no more blog postings this year. The Parliament will shut down from tomorrow (Christmas Eve) until we return on Tuesday 5 January 2010 (Committee's first meeting is 12 January so papers for that will go out on the 5th or 6th). How will you cope without this blog and my pointless and tenuous musical references/connections. However, I have a few CDs coming my way at Christmas (from Richie Havens to the Silent League) so will be back with a vengeance next year!
We have some projects we are taking forward and which we hope to launch in January. These are aimed at further publicising the petitions process here and the work of the Committee. The anticipation! Can you contain yourself!! I think next year will be a good one for the Committee and, importantly, we hope for petitioners.
Anyway, I hope you all have a good Christmas an a guid New Year.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Screening and diagnosis of Haemochromatosis (Iron Overload)

2009-12-15T08:01:00.005Z

We've considered quite a few health petitions over recent meetings. This afternoon we considered another one from George Scott on Haemochromatosis. This is a genetic disorder which causes the body to absorb excessive iron from the diet and then deposits it in the liver, pancreas, heart, endocrine glands and joints. This can lead to liver cirrhosis, heart damage and diabetes.
It's always interesting to receive petitions like this, people seeking to raise our awareness of conditions that perhaps don't receive a lot of attention compared to others. I thought the petition was really well put together with lots of information. The oral presentations from George Scott, Dr Fitzsimons and Dr Robson were particularly useful. You could see the committee was getting absorbed into the topic.
In the end we agreed to write to the UK National Screening Committee, the Scottish Government, Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, British Society for Haematology, Molecular Haematology Unit and the Canadian Hemochromatosis Society looking for more information about the issues raised in the petition. We've also asked the petitioner for some statistical data about incidence rates.
We'll have another look at this petition next year once all this information comes back.
John Farquhar Munro MSP, Deputy Convener

School bus safety

2009-12-11T14:04:00.007Z

Our discussion this afternoon on school bus safety was interesting and hopefully productive. You will know that we have been looking at these petitions for a while now.
It was good to hear from petitioner Ron Beaty again (sorry that Lynn Merrifield couldn't make due to illness) - we hope they found some satisfaction in our discussion and what we are trying to do. It was interesting to hear from Garth Goddard of the Yellow School Bus Commission about the outcomes from the report which it published on this issue earlier this year and from Malcolm Bruce MP who tried to legislate on this issue in the House of Commons.
Malcolm Bruce mentioned the scope for a 'school bus overtaking ban' pilot scheme that he had raised with the UK transport minister and which could perhaps run in Scotland. We agreed to look into this idea further. Also discussion around what individual local authorities are doing and what provision is made by them in terms of school buses. What are the regional variations? What scope is there through contracts to address this issue? The committee will follow up issues that arose from this afternoon and then come back to these petitions next year to see where we are.
Nanette Milne MSP

A braw year?

2009-12-11T13:39:00.008Z

I think this has been a braw year for the PPC. As I said at our meeting this afternoon, we met 18 times during 2009, with three of these meetings being external in Easterhouse, Fraserburgh and Alness. Here we met with local groups and individuals, schools, and discussed issues around what we do, the role of the Parliament, how to get involved through petitioning. Some great moments (folk sitting on the floor at the Easterhouse meeting as we ran out of space and seats; the pupils at Fraserburgh Academy and who had the nicest hair; being piped in at Alness Academy when we arrived!).
We hosted our knife crime summit in the Parliament back in January on John Muir's petition; contributed to the moving stories exhibition with 4 of the 10 stories being from petitioners; played a role in the recent Understanding and influencing your Parliament conference; met with several delegations eg Wales, Vietnam, Victoria in Australia; concluded our year long inquiry into the public petitions process; introduced several ways to better publicise the work and role of the committee (including this blog!); and continued our consideration of our access to cancer drugs petition inquiry from 2008.
We considered 79 new and 277 current petitions over the course of our 18 meetings. This resulted in the issuing of around 2,000 letters and e-mails seeking information.
Now I think all of this, and all the other work we've done is pretty impressive. But we can do more and we will. We've got some exciting work ahead of us in 2010 including more external meetings in St Andrews, Thurso and Arran, our young petitioners meeting which we will hold, more projects to increase our presence using new e-technologies plus, of course, lots of interesting and important petitions to consider. We will continue to improve the petitions process wherever and whenever we can to ensure it meets the needs and expectations of the people who use it.
Can I wish you all a happy Christmas an a guid New Year.
Frank McAveety MSP, Convener of the PPC

Welcome Back My Friends...

2009-12-10T08:40:00.003Z

... To The Show That Never Ends by Emerson Lake and Palmer was one of the first elbums I every bought (from a place called Easy Rider in Forrest Road in Edinburgh). Triple album. Wow! Anyway, Tuesday sees the final meeting of 2009 of the committee but, of course, the work continues in 2010 with a very full programme of meetings and external events. We are already filling the agendas for January meetings. The work goes on. So that's this week's tenuous musical link.
Two oral presentations on Tuesday. The first will take the form of a round table discussion on two petitions relating to school bus safety. Taking part are petitioners Ron Beaty and Lynn Merrifield, along with Malcolm Bruce MP, Garth Goddard of the Yellow School Bus Commission, a representative from Aberdeenshire Council and Josh Kane MSYP who is the Convener of the Scottish Youth Parliament Transport, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee. Those following the committee will be aware of the past consideration it has given to these petitions, mainly around the issues of seat belts and improving safety signage on school buses.
The second oral presentation relates to George Scott's petition on Haemochromatosis (Iron Overload). There have been a number of health petitions before the committee in recent weeks (eg the last meeting petition on Low Dose Naltrexone). Two very interesting petitions. You can see all the petitions being considered next Tuesday on the agenda. I just hope the meeting doesn't last as long as the ELP album mentioned above! (me, Royal Albert Hall, circa 1995, ELP reunion concert - not 'alf!).
Will post an update after Tuesday's meeting.
All the best,
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Local public petitioning processes?

2009-12-04T08:54:00.003Z

Interesting petition just posted up on our e-petition site which is calling for the introduction by local authorities of locally based public petitioning processes (perhaps modelled on the system we operate here in the Parliament?). This would allow people at a very local level to take forward petitions on more local issues and have them considered (as the national parliament, petitions here must have a national aspect to them).
Of course this was something which the committee looked at during its inquiry into the public petitions process (paras.178-185).
You can of course support this e-petition by simply adding your name online (easy peasy) or posting a comment up to the discussion forum. Looking to put this before the committee at its 26 January meeting.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

E-petitioning

2009-12-03T13:11:00.006Z

The Scottish Parliament was the first legislature in the world to accept e-petitions. A what I hear you ask! Basically, its a petition which we would host on our website which allows people (from all over the world) to go in, view it online, add their e-signature and enter into a discussion forum where they can, if they wish, put forward an opposing view to that set out by the petitioner. You can view our e-petition site here.
E-petitioning is often cited as a good example of e-democracy. Now that opens up an entire debate as to what e-democracy is which I am not going to go into here but we are proud of the opportunity which e-petitioning has provided to encourage and provide a further option for people to participate in the public petitions process as a democratic process. To give you some stats, around 3/4 of the petitions that come forward, the petitioner want to go up as an e-petition. Since 2000 when the first e-petition was hosted, there have been over 100,000 e-signatures and over 3,000 discussion comments. Site usage is over 1 million hits per month. Pretty impressive!
Of course, since then many other legislatures (and local authorities) have introduced e-petitioning systems - Queensland, Bundestag to name two of the big players in this field. E-petitioning has also enhanced the world profile of our public petitioning process here. However, the core of a petitioning process must be the scrutiny that is given to the petition itself, whether e or not. It is what the Parliament does with it. That is where the role of the PPC here is so crucial.
The reason for raising this issue is that we are now taking forward a project to revamp our e-petition site. We want to improve the appearance and functionality of it, introduce more modern technologies eg Web2.0 and offer more facilities to users which will allow us to share more information about the petition with them. Central to this project is ensuring we maintain ease of use for users. So, what would you like our new system to do? If there is a feature which you think the new system should have, let me know. At the end of the day, it must meet the needs of petitioners and the people who want to access e-petitions.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC
fergus.cochrane@scottish.parliament.uk

What's up this week

2009-11-30T14:04:00.002Z

Well, committee meeting tomorrow afternoon. Agenda actually not that bad compared with recent weeks. Did get slightly worried that I had maybe left some petitions off by mistake!
Two oral presentations from petitioners on NHS interpretation/translation services and on availability on NHS of low dose naltrexone.
Visiting the committee this week is Johannes Fritz from the University of Erlangen in Germany who is undertaking a research project on behalf of the Petitions Committee of the German Bundestag on e-petitioning. This follows up an earlier visit from Ralf Lindner at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research two years ago. Johannes will watch the committee's meeting tomorrow afternoon and then I'll have a sit down and blether with him on Wednesday morning before he meets Convener in afternoon. He also has other meetings lined up with various academics. Looking forward to sharing some ideas and thoughts on how public petitioning progress are being developed by the committee here and in Germany.
Also on horizon are discussions with the blood donation services in Germany and Greece in connection with petition before the committee at present. This will follow on from the videoconference held with Paris last week (see post below).
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Videoconference with Paris

2009-11-26T13:04:00.004Z

The Committee has gone international again, this time with a videoconference with Paris. Frank McAveety (convener), Anne McLaughlin and Robin Harper heard from Dr Gilles Folléa, Leslie Sobaga and Sophie Skotnicki about how France has been promoting and encouraging blood donation (and eventually succeeded) for the best part of the last 10 years. Dr Folléa is one of the top heads of the Etablissement Français du Sang (EFS), the equivalent of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service.

The videoconference was on the back of petition PE1274 by Andrew Dannet which seeks to introduce a scheme to pay people each time they donate blood and to consider other measures to encourage more people to donate.

We received valuable information based on the French experience which will no doubt assist the Committee's work on the petition. We learned that in France, there are 156 sites where people can donate blood with 85% of these sites being mobile (going from town to town), all this backed up by local and national awareness campaigns pretty much throughout the year. One good idea that they have is that when people donate blood they are asked to make another appointment so that it is not just a one off (men can give blood up to 6 times a year and women up to 4). Donors are then reminded of the appointment by text message.

This was a videoconf which was well worth it and the petition will be back before the Committee in April.

Just to show you how international we really are, la vidéoconference a apporté des éléments neufs et innovateurs qui vont sans nul doute aider le comité dans ses délibérations. L’approche française est certainement un succès et les examples donnés, à la fois simples et pratiques, illustrent une bonne utilisation d’outils informatiques. Par example, lorsque quelqu’un donne du sang, on demande à cette personne de reprendre aussitôt un rendez-vous pour une prochaine fois. Le donneur recevra ensuite un message par texto pour lui rappeler du jour et l’heure du rendez-vous. Simple et efficace!

Merci

Clerking team

Understanding Parliament conference

2009-11-25T17:07:00.018Z

Last Saturday (21st), over 100 people from small, local community groups around Scotland came together for the 1st ever "Understanding and Influencing Your Parliament" conference. For nearly everyone who came along, this was their first experience of engaging with the Parliament.

The petitions process was at the heart of what we had to share with them. We started the day in the Chamber with five speakers giving short presentations about the Parliament, the Scottish Government and what it is like to be an MSP - especially how constituents can help Members to do their jobs. As the Presiding Officer emphasized, the day was all about "people power". We wanted to show our delegates how they are at the heart of Scotland's political processes, and how they can use them to get their voices heard on their issues. One delegate coined the phrase "a citizens' democracy", which sparked lively debate from our panel. Here you can see petitioner Tina McGeever talking with some of the delegates.

We were delighted to welcome Michelle Stewart, one of our petitioners, to speak in the Chamber. Michelle's input - from the heart and without any notes - clearly showed why she was named as Campaigner of the Year earlier in the week.

Networking in the Garden Lobby had started first thing over coffee and continued over the lunch break. Delegates had a chance to go on a quick tour of Holyrood and to get their pictures taken for use in their local papers, newsletters and websites.

In the afternoon, it was back to the hard work with two workshops.

Fergus and Frank McAveety led sessions on petitions, sharing their knowledge and experience. As delegates departed at the end of the day, many of them mentioned that they were away to think about or even draft a petition so they must have captured everyone's imagination!

Michelle stayed on and we were joined by Tina McGeevor as well - they both contributed to sessions about how to run a campaign. Feedback has been very positive with comments about how much people learnt on the day and how pleased they were to experience their "open and accessible Parliament" in action. This event really showed how the Committee and the Education and Community Partnerships team can work together, with other Members and colleagues of course, to promote the work of the Parliament and how people can get involved, as flagged in the Committee's recent inquiry report. I suspect we'll be called on to run the conference again, judging by its success. Well, at least it keeps Fergus and Frank out of the CD shops on a Saturday afternoon.

Rosemary Everett, Head of Education and Community Partnership Team

Vietnamese delegation

2009-11-23T08:40:00.002Z

A delegation from the Office of National Assembly of Vietnam visits the Parliament this week for a series of meetings and discussions. The main objective of the visit is to provide an opportunity to learn about the development of devolution in Scotland, relations with the UK Parliament and the other devolved institutions, the role of an MSPs, the support services involved in the work of the Parliament such as information and research, the legislative process and the work of parliamentary committees, the scrutiny role of the Parliament.
I will be meeting the delegation on Wednesday when we will have a blether about our public petitioning process. I met with a similar delegation 12 months ago - I must have said something that interested them!
The group comprises parliamentary officials and I am looking forward to meeting with them.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Tuesday's meeting

2009-11-19T08:16:00.002Z

A long meeting on Tuesday afternoon, started at 2.00 and ran on until 5.20 pm. At one point I was thinking about the advert that was on the telly years ago for a well known make of tea which featured chimpanzees. The advert had the Houses of Parliament in the background and the chimps are dressed in suits. Anyway, the key line in the advert was "Let's make it an all night sitting" as they pour another cup of tea. In my head on Tuesday, this was funny!
If anyone is still reading this post well here goes. Three oral evidence sessions and you can read posts about the cancer drugs and fairtrade food in schools petitions (see posts below from Frank McAveety and Nanette Milne). The third oral evidence session was on reducing levels of stillbirths and neonatal deaths (PE1291).
It is quite incredible the breadth of subjects which are covered at one meeting. On Tuesday the committee considered 20 petitions on 18 different subjects. It is interesting to watch the discussion amongst committee members change so quickly from one subject to another and for the petition to move forward in a constructive way through the identification of further questions to ask.
All the letters arising from Tuesday were issued yesterday. These are inviting written submissions from a wide range of bodies. Most of these petitions will now roll forward to the meeting the committee is having in February 2010 at which it will consider only current petitions. There are around 40 petitions down for discussion at that meeting. Gulp!
We now turn our minds to the next meeting on 1 December with the papers going out early next week. As the second best band to come out of Scotland (AWB - Blue Nile first, Sutherland Brothers third) once sung, Lets Go Round Again! (me, Edinburgh Oden circa 1981!).
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Tina McGeever petition

2009-11-18T08:09:00.006Z

I thought you would welcome a post on the outcome of our discussion yesterday afternoon on Tina McGeever's access to cancer drugs petition (PE1108). As you know, the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, was giving evidence to the committee on progress and action by the Scottish Government in taking forward the conclusions of our inquiry report.

This, I thought, was a really useful and helpful discussion with the Cab Sec in terms of getting clarity and details of what practical steps are being taken to improve the processes at a very local level for patients accessing cancer treatment drugs. The petition came forward on the back of the experience of Tina and her late husband Michael Gray.

It was encouraging yesterday to hear the steps being taken on a number of fronts such as improving local liaison between the health board, clinician and patient, more (and better quality) information for patients on exceptional prescribing to be renamed individual patient treatment requests).

We welcome and appreciate the work that has been done and will be continue to be done by the Scot Govt and we are pleased to have been able to assist in this. Of course we will continue to consider the petition but I think yesterday took us all a good way forward to bringing about the necessary improvements. That is what we are working together to achieve.

You can listen to Tina being interviewed after the meeting on Radio Scotland i-player (about 16m 40s in).

You can also watch the archive of yesterday discussion with the Cab Sec on Holyrood TV (this was the first petition on the agenda).

Frank McAveety MSP, Convener

Visit this week

2009-11-16T11:22:00.002Z

Another visit this week. A Commonwealth Parliamentary Association delegation of around 50 elected members will visit the Parliament on Wednesday and Thursday for a series of meetings with MSPs and officials. Highlight of the visit will of course be a discussion on public petitions! The delegation is made up of elected members from a wide range of countries - Australia. Cameroon, Pakistan, Malawi, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Brunei Darussalam, Namibia and many others.
This will be another great opportunity for the committee to talk about and demonstrate the importance of an effective and relevant public petitioning process. The delegation asked that discussing public petitioning was on the programme for their visit.

Well done Dyce Academy!

2009-11-16T08:56:00.007Z

Well done to Dyce Academy pupils Julia Standing, Erin Young, Laura Stebbings and their teacher, Ruth Teehan, who were at this afternoon's committee meeting. They were talking to us about their petition (PE1292) on Fairtrade food in schools and did a fantastic job putting over their arguments. We had a good discussion with them and the pupils spoke about the particular situation at their own school.

You can watch the archive of our discussion through Holyrood TV (scroll along to about 47 minutes).
We agreed to write to the Scottish Government, Scottish Fair Trade Forum, Scottish Parent Teacher Council and some local councils - including Aberdeen - about the petition. An issue we have raised is about balancing the promotion of healthy eating against that of enterprise education. We also want to know whether guidance issued by the Scottish Government on health eating in schools will have a bad impact on encouraging pupils to think about fair trade and the social, environmental, ethical and community benefits associated with this.

Earlier in the day the pupils had a tour of the Parliament. I hope you each enjoyed your day.
Nanette Milne MSP

South Australia Legislative Council

2009-11-12T11:29:00.003Z

The Convener, Frank McAveety MSP, will meet with Bob Sneath MLC, the President of the South Australia Legislative Council and Jan Davis, the Clerk to the Council, this afternoon to discuss the public petitions process here. This is the latest in a series of discussions which the committee has had with Australian legislatures in recent months on petitioning. It held a videoconference with the Petitions Committee at the House of Representatives (the federal Parliament) in September and later that month the Speaker and Clerk to the Victoria Legislative Assembly visited the Parliament. Its good that there is interest across the world in what the committee is doing and the public petitions process that we operate here.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Late. Again!

2009-11-12T11:16:00.002Z

Terrible performance on my part in not posting before now. We issued all the papers for next Tuesday's committee meeting earlier this week. That should have been my prompt to post details but I never. Can you forgive me!
Anyway, the committee has a further bumper meeting on Tuesday. All papers available on committee's webpage. Meeting starts at 2.00 pm in committee room 2 and you can watch live via Holyrood TV.
First petition on agenda is PE1108 on access to cancer drugs. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing will answer questions about progress made by the Scottish Government and others in improving access to cancer treatment drugs since the committee's inquiry report last year.
Next up are a couple of new petitions (PE1290 and PE1292) along the lines of save our school tuck shops. Some of the pupils from Dyce Academy will speak to the committee about their petition.
The other oral presentation relates to petition PE1291 from SANDS the stillbirth and neonatal death charity.
There are four other new petitions and 13 current petitions down on the agenda. As I say, you can view the online version of the agenda where you can hyperlink to each petition page for more details. Very nifty!
No other items on the agenda. I will post up details of what came out of Tuesday's meeting afterwards.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Committee of the year?

2009-11-06T11:29:00.002Z

Each year, The Herald newspaper hosts the Scottish political awards. This year, the committee has been shortlisted for the 'committee of the year' award. To be recognised in this way is appreciated, particularly given the many petitions and important issues which it has dealt with this year on behalf of petitioners who have brought issues forward to their Parliament.
The event takes place in a couple of weeks . As they say at the Oscars, just being shortlisted is an honour in itself!!

Special petitions meeting for young people!

2009-11-03T10:41:00.006Z

I wanted to post up a quick note on the outcome of our discussion this afternoon regarding our idea for a special public petitions committee meeting to consider petitions from young people. I am really pleased that we agreed to take this forward (we highlighted the idea in our petitions inquiry report (para.33) earlier this year).
So what happens next? Well, we have already started discussions with Young Scot and the Scottish Youth Parliament about how to make this happen. It's great that we are going to work with these key bodies and tap into the skill and expertise they have. We want to encourage a number of petitions from across Scotland, which will emerge from the grassroots and cover issues that matter to young people. We will provide the forum for these petitions to be discussed and to hear from the young petitioners themselves. Provisionally we have agreed 15 June for this meeting at a venue to be agreed. It may be here at Holyrood, it may be external - perhaps linking in with a project which SYP is taking forward.
Of course I'll keep you updated on how we move forward with this.
Frank McAveety MSP, Convener of the PPC

Petition on display of sexually graphic magazines and newspapers

2009-11-03T09:08:00.009Z

You will recall at our last meeting on 6 October, we heard from the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill MSP, and Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, Tam Baillie, about petition PE1169.
We had a further discussion on this petition this afternoon. Focus was on whether to take forward research on compliance with the voluntary code on this issue (we had questioned the Cab. Sec. about this). There is a recognition that this voluntary code is perhaps not working as it should.
So what happens now? Well, we will write to the Scottish Government to follow-up on what the Cab Sec said and ask whether it intends to undertake any research. However, we will also consider the scope for us to commission research into this issue should the Scottish Government say it has no plans to do so. Precisely what this research will look at we will need to think about very carefully but, initially, we identified issues around the levels of non-compliance with the code, people's perceptions of sexually explicit front covers being in view of children in some shops, the social cost of the problem in terms of the exploitation of women and children, improvements to the code, should it have a mandatory footing rather than be voluntary.
We will of course keep followers of the petition in touch with this.
Marlyn Glen MSP, PPC

School bus safety petitions

2009-11-03T08:58:00.006Z

We discussed the two petitions on school bus safety again this afternoon. For those following these important petitions, you will know that the committee has taken a close interest in this issue. The petitions are PE1098 from Lynn Merrifield and PE1223 from Ron Beaty. While the petitions deal with different issues, central to them both is improving school bus safety.
We have already heard from the Scottish Government's Minister for Transport, Stewart Stevenson MSP, when we held a meeting at Fraserburgh Academy earlier this year. What we have agreed to do next is invite Malcolm Bruce MP (who is promoting the School Bus Safey Bill through the House of Commons), Josh Kane MSYP, Convener of Scottish Youth Parliament Transport, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee, David Blunkett MP, Chairman, Yellow School Bus Commission and a representative from Aberdeenshire Council along to our meeting on 15 December for a round table discussion on this matter.
We want to see what else can and should be done to make our children's journey to and from school safe and enjoyable and we hope our discussion on 15 December will help.
Nanette Milne MSP

Catholics in Scottish prisons petition

2009-11-03T08:46:00.005Z

The committee discussed petition PE1073 this afternoon. This calls on the Parliament to investigate and establish the reasons for the apparently disproportionate number of Catholics in Scottish prisons. The webpage gives you the background to this petition and the consideration we have given to it so far. You will see that we wanted to widen the scope of the petition to also cover the disproportionate number of Muslims in prisons.
At our last meeting we agreed to consider whether research in this area was desirable. This afternoon, we discussed the initial responses we have received from academics in this field.
The committee has been particularly interested in this issue which is why we think it might be worthwhile taking forward some bespoke research. What we will now do is approach some academics to take forward a more detailed scoping study which would provide more information on precisely what we might want to research.
Once we have this more refined information we will consider whether to commission research. We hope to look at the petition again before the end of the year.
Frank McAveety MSP (Convener) and John Wilson MSP, PPC

Ryan McLaughlin petition update

2009-11-02T08:30:00.002Z

In my last post I flagged up that the committee, tomorrow afternoon, would be looking at Ryan McLaughlin's MS and vitamnin D supplementation petition. You might want to watch this You Tube clip to hear Ryan talk about his petition.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Hold On!

2009-10-28T08:08:00.005Z

I have been trying to think of an appropriate song to link this post to and the only one I have in my head right now is 'Hold On' by Deep Purple (from their best ever album in my view, 1974's Stormbringer - sorry, cannot find You Tube link). Tenuous I know but 'Hold On' we have another bumper petitions committee meeting coming up (groan, that was terrible!).
With the October recess now a distant memory its back to normal parliamentary business and the resumption of committee meetings. The agenda and papers for next Tuesday's meeting were published yesterday and are available via the committee's webpage.
On the new petitions, the committee will hear from ProjectScotland about a national youth volunteering policy and from Multi Ethnic Aberdeen Ltd about NHS interpretation and translation services. MEAL are one of the bodies taking part in the Parliament's community partnership project.
On the current petitions, there are a few returning to the committee including the petitions on school bus safety (PE1098 and PE1223) and PE1169 on the display of sexually graphic magazines and newspapers. You will recall the committee heard from Tam Baillie, Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People and Kenny MacAskill MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice at its last meeting. Also coming back is Ryan McLaughlin's petition on vitamin D supplements. Ryan came to the committee in June when he and 500 other bravehearts walked down the Royal Mile to the Parliament. A very colourful day!
Finally, the committee will discuss its work programme for 2010 and agree meeting dates and the locations for its three external meetings. It will also agree the date for the special petitions meeting for young people it has undertaken to hold next year (see para.33 of inquiry report).
As ever, you can watch the entire meeting live via the excellent Holyrood TV from 2.00 pm (committee room 1)
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Hold the front page! New podcast!

2009-10-26T16:47:00.004Z

The committee launched another podcast today. An introduction to the public petitions system includes an interview with the convener, Frank McAveety MSP. You can access the pod cast here. Why not visit the Scottish Parliament's podcast page where you can download podcasts on other aspects of the Parliament's work.

Knife crime

2009-10-22T08:51:00.006+01:00

You will be aware that the committee has been considering the petition (PE1171) from John Muir on knife crime for about 16 months now. The committee has been trying to take forward an open discussion on the issues which arise out of John's petition. Earlier this year it sponsored a unique debate in the Chamber of the Parliament when police, victims, their families, churches, social work, media, charities, legal bodies, children's groups, community groups, academics, politicians and others came together for an open debate on how to tackle this problem. The discussion was facilitated by Brian Taylor, BBC Scotland political editor. There was a lot of focus on this debate and what the committee was trying to do.
You can read the oral transcript of what was said and and read the report of the debate which are both available on the committee's webpage. There are also photographs of the event available on our Picasa page.
The committee has now received the response from the Scottish Government to this report.
So what happens next? Well, the Justice Committee here in the Parliament is currently considering the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland ) Bill which contains provisions relating to custodial sentencing. This was one of the core issues in John's petition, that of mandatory custodial sentencing for carrying a knife. That committee is due to complete Stage 1 of the Bill by the end of November. It is expected that the PPC will then look at the petition again (at one of its December meetings) to reflect of where things are and what it can do next.
We will of course keep you updated with the committee's work on this petition. You can access the petition and all the related material via its own webpage. John Muir was one of the people who took part in the Parliament's 10th anniversary Moving Stories exhibition and you can listen to his moving experience about why he had to bring his petition forward.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Yes, we are still here!

2009-10-21T16:02:00.003+01:00

I'm aware that we hadn't posted any new comments on to the blog for a week or so. For the 10s of people who follow this blog, here you are. A wee update on all things petitions.
The Parliament of course in in recess - back to Parliament business next week. However, petitions continue to come in and we have been working with petitioners on some possible new petitions that might be coming forward over the coming days and weeks. Some of the new petitions yet to go to the committee you can access via the e-petition site
We are also busy here pulling papers together for the committee's next meeting on 3 November. These will go out early next week (Tuesday?) so keep an eye on the website for the agenda and papers. One of the issues which the committee will discuss at the meeting is its work programme for 2010. At the meeting, it will consider and agree (I hope!) the dates for all of its meetings in 2010 and also the locations for the external meetings which it will hold. So the committee could be coming to a town near you next year!
There are four meetings between now and Christmas - 3 and 17 November, 1 and 15 December but we reckon the committee will look at around 80 petitions across these meetings. Now that I have typed that, roll on Christmas! So a heavy workload in the weeks ahead.
There are a few other issues floating around the committee just now in terms of delegations to the Parliament, issues arising from its inquiry report so watch this space for breaking news.
Promise to get back to more regular updates next week.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Meeting of 6 October 2009

2009-10-07T17:19:00.010+01:00

The Committee yesterday took oral evidence from Julie Love and Dr Kenneth Faulds on petition PE1280 which calls for a Fatal Accident Inquiry to be held when a person from Scotland dies abroad. Julie's own son Colin died while swimming on holiday in Venezuela. The way it is at the moment, if an English civilian has a sudden or unexpected death abroad, this will automatically trigger a coroner's inquiry upon the return of the corpse (this is in addition to any inquiry that may have taken place in the country in which the person died). This is very important to determine the cause of the death, the circumstances and to make recommendations to try to prevent future similar accidents. However, the same does not apply if a person from Scotland dies abroad even if there are suspicious circumstances. Here are some pictures from the petitioners taken during the meeting.
The Committee also heard from Kenny MacAskill (Cabinet Secretary for Justice) and Tam Baillie (new Commissioner for Children and Young People)on petition PE1169 on the display of magazines with sexual content. Again, here are a few pics.
Remember,this blog is primarily for you so do let us know what you think about any of the posts.

PPC clerks

Phew!

2009-10-07T17:07:00.002+01:00

Well, lengthy and detailed meeting yesterday afternoon (apologies for not posting earlier). First up was the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill MSP, and Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, Tam Baillie, answering questions about PE1169 on the display of sexually graphic magazines and newspapers. At the end of this, the Committee agreed to look at the scope for research into this issue eg non-compliance with the voluntary code which exists. We are now taking this forward for this committee and a paper will go back to it at its next meeting on 3 November to consider how to move forward.

Next up were two further discussions this time with the petitioners on PE1276 (age of retirement for judicial office holders) and PE1280 (requirement for fatal accident inquiry). Check out the Official Report when published next Tuesday for a record of the discussion.
There was also a batch of current petitions to get through and with 10 MSPs (not members of the committee) there to speak to various petitions, it was a lengthy one, finishing at 5.27 pm.
Anyway, the committee doesnt have another meeting until 3 November but there is a lot to get through between now and Christmas with around 70 petitions down for discussion (and this number will go up!). One petition back before the committee is PE1108 on access to cancer treatment drugs (as a wee aside, well done to Tina McGeever who won the Scottish Woman of the Year award the other night for her campaign). The committee agreed to invite the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, back to discuss progress being made in taking forward the conclusions of its inquiry report published last year.
As ever, we'll keep you posted as things pan out with arrangements for these meetings and other work of the committee including its work programme for 2010 - dates of meetings and locations for external meetings!
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Here I go again!

2009-09-30T11:55:00.008+01:00

I typed in the heading for this post and then immediately thought of the classic Archie Bell & The Drells hit . After the Convener's reference last week to the Tony Hancock Magna Carta sketch, we are getting all showbizzy here!
Well, the committee moves on from its Alness meeting and returns to the familiar setting of committee room 2 for next Tuesday's committee meeting. The agenda and papers were issued yesterday and are available on the committee's webpage
As you can see, a big agenda with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill MSP, and Scotland's Childrens Commissioner, Tam Baillie, both giving oral evidence on petition PE1169 about the display of 'lads mags' in newsagents. The committee will also take oral presentations on petitions PE1276 about the age of retirement for judicial office holders and PE1280 on the requirements for fatal accident inquiries which has been lodged by Kenneth Faulds and Julie Love.
There are also a number of ongoing petitions coming back before the committee for further discussion including PE1108 on access to cancer treatment drugs on the NHS which was of course the subject of the committee's inquiry last year. Committee has been looking at the improvements made to the system since it reported.
As always, you can watch the meeting live on your PC via the Holyrood TV feed. Meeting starts at usual 2.00 pm.
Fergus. Clerk to the PPC

Even more Alness meeting news!

2009-09-24T11:53:00.008+01:00

Some further bits of information for you about the committee's meeting in Alness on Monday. First, the Official Report of the meeting has been published (this is the transcript of what was said). Second, you can watch a wee video (below) of the meeting at the school. This includes an interview with the Academy's head teacher. Three, this week's Holyrood Highlights programme also featured the Alness meeting.Phew!

What happens now?

2009-09-24T07:53:00.004+01:00

Well, a really interesting 2 hour debate yesterday in the Chamber on the committee's petitions inquiry report. A lot of the positive aspects of the petitions process came out and members across the Chamber reflected on how the process really has evolved over the last 10 years and will continue to do so. This was a key point made be several committee members who referred to work they will be doing over the coming months to ensure the process continues to move forward.
Michael McMahon MSP, who was the PPC convener in session 2, in his opening speech referred back to petitioning and the Magna Carta. He set up the current convener (Frank McAveety MSP) nicely who, in the debate closing speech referred to the Tony Hancock sketch. Yes he did!
You can read the transcript of what was said or watch the archive film of the meeting.
So what happens now? Well, quite a few things have already been rolled out since the committee reported back in June. This blog for a start. Several other ideas are being taken forward internally eg revamp of the e-petition site, providing a facility to allow for the texting of support to petitions, improving publicity material (leaflets etc) These were all mentioned yesterday. The committee will also consider in the next few weeks its work programme for 2010. This will cover meeting dates, possible venues for further external meetings, how to take forward a dedicated young persons petitions meeting, how to build on last Monday's external meeting in Alness and the work done by our education outreach team here. We also want to reflect on some of the comments made at the Alness meeting, in particular, how to better publicise these external meetings so that more folk come along. We did arrange for posters to go up in local libraries and the convener wrote an article for the local newspapers but what else can we do?
So a lot going on the next few weeks and we will use the blog to provide regular updates on how all of this is going forward.
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

The big day has arrived!

2009-09-23T07:39:00.004+01:00

Well, big day for committee with a debate in the Chamber this afternoon (3.05-5.00 pm) on the report of its inquiry into the petitions process. This is a good opportunity for the committee to talk about the key issues which people raised with it during its inquiry such as how to raise the profile of the petitions process, how to improve the scrutiny by the committee of petitions.
I know that a few members of the committee are hoping to speak. The Deputy Convener, John Farquhar Munro MSP, will open for the committee and the Convener, Frank McAveety MSP, will close the debate. The Minister for Parliamentary Business in the Scottish Government, Bruce Crawford MSP, will also be taking part.
You can tune in to this and watch it live via Holyrood TV (or watch the archive from tomorrow morning).
Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Well done Alness!

2009-09-22T09:48:00.008+01:00

“Fantastic!”, “Great response!”, “Really interesting!”. These were some of the comments made by committee members after its meeting in Alness Academy yesterday. The meeting went well from the moment we arrived and were piped into the school by pupil Martin Wunder (what a brilliant welcome!) to when we left. The committee MSPs were very enthusiastic about the meeting and appreciative of all the arrangements and hard work made by the Academy. They were also very grateful to those who came along and took part.

Can we thank everyone who contributed yesterday. All the primary and secondary school pupils who came along, the staff at Alness Academy, and members of the public who turned up.
The committee has asked us to have a wee think about what worked well (and not so well yesterday from our side) and see what we can do better next time round. We really want to build on this and see how we can encourage higher turnouts at future meetings (wherever these may be) and other ideas to get folk involved. We had a look at the comment sheets that were handed in. Some good points made which I will follow up (apologies to those of you distracted by the photographer – we will make sure that doesn’t happen again). Remember, if you were at yesterday’s meeting and would like to let us know what you thought (good or bad) then please post a comment up on to the blog.
The committee is committed to getting out and about round Scotland and will shortly consider its work programme for 2010. This will include ideas for dates and venues for further external meetings.
We have posted a few photos on to our blog photo page. Click here to view. There is also a link below to the piece on STV news last night. There was also coverage of the meeting on Moray Firth Radio and BBC Radio Scotland, Inverness and Aberdeen.
Again, our thanks to everyone for yesterday.

Fergus, Clerk to the PPC

Alness Academy pupil's blood donation petition

2009-09-18T11:52:00.004+01:00

In case you are following the petition which we are considering on Monday at our Alness Academy meeting, you may want to have a listen to a couple of radio interviews with Andrew Danet, the pupil there who has brought this petition forward. Very impressive Andrew!
BBC Radio 5 Live (interview is 56 mins in)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00mq7vt
BBC Radio Ulster (interview is 4 mins in)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00mqdt6/Talk_Back_17_09_2009/
Frank McAveety MSP, PPC Convener

Revised date and time for petitions debate

2009-09-17T12:27:00.004+01:00

The Parliament will debate the report of the committee's inquiry into petitioning on Wednesday 23 September, 3.05-5.00 pm. This will take place in the Parliament Chamber.
If you would like to come along to the Parliament and watch this debate then you should book a ticket through our visitor services team. If you cannot get along to watch this in person, then you can watch the entire debate live over your PC via Holyrood TV
http://www.holyrood.tv/index.asp
or, if you miss, then watch the archive via the link below
http://www.holyrood.tv/library.asp?iPid=3&section=31&title=General+Debates
The Deputy Convener, John Farquhar Munro MSP will open the debate for the committee and the Convener will close. Other committee members will speak when the debate goes into open session (after the opening speeches).
Hope you are able to tune.
Fergus, PPC Clerk

Videoconference with Australia

2009-09-16T16:58:00.004+01:00

We held a videoconference with the Petitions Committee of the Australian House of Representatives this morning - well, 8.45 am here, 5.45 pm in Canberra. Not long after breakfast here and members there heading off for evening meal. Weird! The wonders of modern technology.
Anyway, a really interesting discussion as always. A videoconference was held last November so this was a good opportunity to follow-up on some of the things we spoke about then. They are conducting an inquiry into e-petitioning and were interested in the Scottish experience of this. The e-petition system here was launched in 2000 and since has attracted over 100,000 e-signatures and 3,000 discussion comments. Pretty good don't you think.
We'll be looking forward to reading their inquiry report when it comes out.
One of the other areas touched on was about using IT to provide information. For example, we use this blog to get news about the work of the committee 'out there'. We are still finding our feet with this but we are hopeful people will find it useful. Other areas we are looking at are using pod casting more to set out what the committee is doing and the potential for mobile phone technology. We need to give people options for how they access information about what we do.
I am meeting the Speaker and Clerk of the Victoria Legislative Assembly next week so the Australian connection continues.
Frank McAveety MSP, Convener of the PPC

Ryan McLaughlin wins Child of the Year Award

2009-09-16T10:34:00.002+01:00

Earlier this year the Committee considered a petition calling for a review of the guidelines on vitamin D supplementation for children and pregnant women. The petitioner, Ryan McLaughlin, launched his Shine on Scotland website and a video on YouTube to support his campaign to raise awareness of MS. On the day the Committee considered his petition, Ryan led a march of over 500 people down the Royal Mile to the Parliament. The Committee members were really impressed with the work which Ryan had done through his campaign, but what made this work even more impressive was that Ryan was only 14 years old!

That is why I, and the other members of the Committee, were delighted to hear that Ryan had won Child of the Year at the Bighearted Scotland Awards ceremony. On behalf of the members of the Public Petitions Committee, well done Ryan on your award. You've certainly done a great job so far.

Frank McAveety MSP, Convener Public Petitions Committee