1. Consideration of continued petitions:
Consideration of continued petitions: The Committee considered the following continued petitions—
PE1855: Pardon and memorialise those convicted under the Witchcraft Act 1563. The Committee took evidence from petitioners Claire Mitchell QC and Zoe Venditozzi. The Committee agreed to consider the evidence it had heard at a future meeting.
PE1854: Review the adult disability payment eligibility criteria for people with mobility needs. The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government.
PE1910: Amend the forthcoming legal requirement to have interlinked fire and smoke alarms in small houses. The Committee agreed to close the petition under rule 15.7 of Standing Orders on the basis that the Scottish Government has indicated that it believes an exemption for smaller houses from the requirement to have interlinked smoke and fire alarms is inappropriate and therefore does not intend to introduce one.
2. Consideration of new petitions:
Consideration of new petitions: The Committee considered the following new petitions—
PE1906: Investigate options for removing and reducing the impact of the central Glasgow section of the M8. The Committee agreed to write to Glasgow City Council, Transport Scotland and to delegate responsibility to the Convener to agree further stakeholder correspondence.
PE1915: Reinstate Caithness County Council and Caithness NHS Board. The Committee agreed to write to NHS Highland. It also agreed to consider this petition alongside PE1845: Agency to advocate for the healthcare needs of rural Scotland and PE1890: Find solutions to recruitment and training challenges for rural healthcare in Scotland at a future meeting and to hear evidence from the petitioner at that meeting.
PE1917: Provide full legal aid to all parents fighting for access to their children. The Committee agreed to write to One Parent Families Scotland, Relationships Scotland, and the Scottish Legal Aid Board.
PE1919: Ban the sale of high caffeine products to children for performance enhancement. The Committee agreed to write to the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, Scottish Athletics, sportscotland, Cardiac Risk in the Young and Food Standards Scotland.
PE1920: Introduce more thorough follow-up care for women with diabetes. The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Diabetes Group and relevant stakeholders.
PE1921: The Scottish Government must confirm that it will not introduce voter ID in devolved elections. The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders on the basis that the Scottish Government has no plans to replicate the voter ID plans set out in the UK Government’s Elections Bill which was introduced into the House of Commons on 5 July 2021. In closing, the Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government.