Petitions

The next item is to consider correspondence from the Public Petitions Committee on PE1542, on human rights for dairy farmers. I refer members to the paper on the petition and invite comments on it.

As the constituency MSP for Argyll and Bute, I have worked with the Mundells. My view, which I believe is the same view as that of both my predecessors as MSP for Argyll and Bute, is that this distressing matter can be dealt with only in the courts. There was a democratic decision by the farmers in Kintyre to have the ring fence, and the only way in which that could be declared to be illegal would be to have a judicial review of the decision. The decision on the ring fence was taken a long time ago by a Tory Government and it was supported in the Argyll and Bute area and across Scotland. I do not believe that any benefit would come from undertaking further activity on the petition, which is the petitioner’s second or third petition on the issue. It has to be a matter for the courts and a judicial review. That advice has been given to the Mundells by a number of people, including me.

As a member of the Public Petitions Committee, I have made clear my views on the petition, which are on record in the Official Report. It is worth noting David Stewart MSP’s comment in the Official Report that the petitioners have contacted “more than 50 lawyers” to no avail, because there has been no satisfactory outcome for the petitioners. It is also worth putting on the record again that the Scottish Human Rights Commission has advised the Public Petitions Committee that only a court could rule on the issue of the petition. We should take that point on board. Given that we are where we are with the petition’s situation, I think that we should write to the Public Petitions Committee advising that the petition be closed.

I get the impression that we should write to the Public Petitions Committee and inform it of our views on the petition, and that we should leave it to that committee to convey our views to the petitioner. Is that agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

For the next meeting of the committee, we will be in Kirkwall grammar school in Orkney to begin pre-legislative scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s proposals on land reform. Like all committee meetings, that will be a public event, and tickets for it can be obtained via the Parliament’s website.

As agreed earlier, we will now move into private session for item 8, which is to consider evidence heard this morning. I close the public part of the meeting and ask for the public gallery to be cleared.

11:22 Meeting continued in private until 11:37.