New Petitions

Thank you. That was excellent. The video is available and can be obtained from the clerks on request. A number of letters from those who support the upgrading of the road, including MSPs, councillors, community councillors, hauliers, the Automobile Association and others are also available. Not being a trunk road, the road is not the direct responsibility of the Executive, but part of the issue raised in the petition is that it should be. The suggestion is that we should refer the petition initially to the Minister for Transport and the Environment, asking her to respond to the points made by the petitioners and to tell us whether the Executive has any proposals to have the road upgraded in line with what the petitioners are asking. That would be the most sensible thing to do. Is that agreed?

We do not have the signatures.

From the back benches.

We will send it to the Transport and the Environment Committee for its information and tell members that we are taking the matter up with the minister.Members indicated agreement.

That is the last of the petitions that has someone to speak to it. I thank Fiona Hyslop.The next petition is from Mr Frank Harvey and is on general anaesthetics in dental surgeries. He calls on the Scottish Parliament to take immediate action to ban the use of general anaesthetics in Scottish dental surgeries. The suggested action is that we pass the petition to the Scottish Executive with a request that officials respond directly to the petitioner on the issues raised. Is anyone minded to do otherwise? Is that agreed?Members indicated agreement.

We have another petition from Mr Frank Harvey, this time on Kingston bridge. It calls on the Parliament to order a public inquiry into the Kingston bridge, highlighting all the aspects of design and construction that have necessitated the repairs and suggesting what could be done to avoid future disruptions to the traffic flow across the bridge. Questions along the same lines as the issues raised in the petition have already been asked by Kenny Gibson and Kenny MacAskill and are under active political consideration. It is suggested that the committee agree to note the petition and take no further action.

It is a valid point, but it is actively being pursued by the Parliament, so there is no need for the petition to be acted upon in any other way.The next petition is from Mr Frank Harvey again, this time on the Western infirmary, calling on the Scottish Parliament to order a public inquiry into the findings of a report by Pat Grant, an accident and emergency consultant at the Western infirmary in Glasgow, on discrimination against elderly patients in the national health service. The petition is based on a report carried in the Scottish Mirror newspaper. Given the circumstances, it is suggested that the committee should note the petition and take no further action.

The matter is under political consideration.The next petition is from Mrs Kirsty Dickson on telecommunications masts. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Executive to take immediate action to stop the erection of telecommunications masts of 15 m and under in residential and environmentally sensitive areas until full planning powers can be established. We know that the Transport and the Environment Committee already has conducted an inquiry into the Executive's proposals to introduce a prior approval planning regime for this kind of mast. In fact, the Executive proposes to take action on the committee's report in the near future, so it would appear to be unlikely that it will introduce any interim measures before it responds to that report. However, it is suggested that the committee write to the Minister for Transport and the Environment, asking her to comment on the issues that are raised in this petition, so that we can tell the petitioner what the Executive intends to do.

We could ask her to comment on the likely time scale.

We will ask the minister to respond quickly on the time scale for acting on the Transport and the Environment Committee's report. Is that agreed?Members indicated agreement.

The next petition is from Mr George Anderson and calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Executive to appeal to the Government of Israel to grant Mordechai Vanunu's release from prison. This is a foreign policy matter and therefore reserved to the Westminster Parliament, so it is suggested that the clerk writes to the petitioner and explains the reserved nature of the matter that he has raised. It could be suggested that he raise it with his local MP or write to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Is that agreed?Members indicated agreement.

The next petition is from Alex O'Kane and is about the north Glasgow community forum. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the north Glasgow community forum to answer in writing the correspondence and questions that have been sent to it by the petitioner. It is clearly not for the Parliament to become involved in disputes involving the actions and activities of community groups. It is suggested that the clerk write to the petitioners explaining that and urging them to continue to pursue this matter at the local level, and that we should take no further action. Is that agreed?Members indicated agreement.

The next petition is from Joseph and Hilary Currie, and is on vehicle fumes. It calls on the Parliament to pass legislation, preferably at national level, to ensure that all vehicle engines be switched off after two minutes at rest, in order to protect the environment. That would have to be done by amending road traffic legislation, which is reserved to Westminster.It is suggested either that the clerk write to the petitioners explaining the reserved nature of road traffic issues—and that we take no further action—or that we raise the matter with the relevant UK Government minister or, if we are attracted by the environmental aims of the petition, we could seek the views of the Minister for Transport and the Environment as well. All those avenues are open to us.

I tend to the view that if petitions are on reserved matters, we should not deal with them. If the area is a grey area, we should consider it. This is a grey area, because it relates to the environment. I would go for the second option, which is to raise the issue with the relevant UK Government minister.

Would it be sensible to take Pauline McNeill's suggestion and write to the responsible UK minister and ask them to give the Government's view, because the Government would be able to explain the detail?Members indicated agreement.

The next petition is from J R Thomson, on solar panels, and calls on the Scottish Parliament to amend the planning and building regulations to ensure that all new buildings in which hot water is required are fitted with solar panels. I understand that pilot projects using solar panels have been carried out by the Executive with Glasgow City Council. It is suggested that the clerk obtain details of current and proposed Scottish Executive policy on the use of solar panels in new buildings. We could then consider whether any further action should be taken. Is that agreed?Members indicated agreement.

The next petition is from Frank Harvey again, this time on organ removal. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to order a public inquiry into the reasons why organs were removed from dead children and stored at the royal hospital for sick children at Yorkhill without parental consent.Members will know that since this briefing was sent out, the Minister for Health and Community Care, Susan Deacon, has announced that she is to set up an independent review group to review matters arising from the retention of organs at post mortem without valid parental consent. I understand also that the parents may have a petition in the pipeline, which will eventually come before this committee. Given the high-profile nature of the issue raised in the petition and the fact that appropriate action is being considered, it is suggested that in this instance the committee notes the petition and takes no further action. Is that agreed?Members indicated agreement.

The next petition—PE270—is from Andrew Baker, on behalf of the A1 East Linton steering group, on the A1 expressway. It calls on Parliament to consider reviewing the proposals for the A1 expressway between Haddington and Dunbar to ensure that it provides direct access to and from East Linton.It is suggested that the Minister for Transport and the Environment should be asked to comment on the issues that are raised in the petition before the committee takes any action. The local MSP, John Home Robertson, has intimated to me that the draft trunk road orders, which will give the go-ahead for the project, will be published next month. The petitioners will be able to object at that stage. It would, in any case, be useful to get the minister's views before we consider the petition further.Are members agreed?Members indicated agreement.

The next petition—PE272—is from the National Farmers Union of Scotland, on the Diseases of Fish (Control) Regulations 1994. It calls on Parliament to amend the regulations to include compensation payments, rights of appeal and access to scientific data. All the background information is provided, but it is felt that some fish farms have been put out of business simply because of suspicion that some fish might be diseased. Unnecessarily large flocks of fish—if that is what you call them—are being wiped out by the Executive. It seems reasonable that we pass the petition to the Rural Affairs Committee for further consideration. It is an important issue, which that committee should deal with.

It would be for the Executive to pursue the matter—I think that it would be interested in it.

The Rural Affairs Committee can process the petition then come back to us on it.The last of the current petitions—PE273—is from the Friends of Durris Forests. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to ensure that four-by-four off-road driving does not take place in any public forest that is managed by the Forestry Commission. It is suggested that we should seek the views of the Forestry Commission before deciding what to do with the petition.

Let us see what the commission has to say first.Is that agreed?Members indicated agreement.