Phew!

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