Minutes: 19 April 2023

1. Consideration of continued petitions:

The Committee considered petition PE1958: Extend aftercare for previously looked after young people, and remove the continuing care age cap, and took evidence from—

the petitioner, Jasmin-Kasaya Pilling, and Laura Pasternak, Who Cares? Scotland, 

Joanne McMeeking, CELCIS (Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection), Megan Farr, Policy Officer, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, and Fiona McFarlane, The Promise Scotland; 

and agreed to consider the evidence heard at a future meeting. The Committee also considered: 

PE1610: Upgrade the A75 and PE1657: A77 upgrade, and agreed to write to the Minister for Transport; 

PE1896: Provide every primary school child in Scotland with a reusable water bottle, and agreed to write to the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, and to the First Minister; 

PE1941: Stop the destruction of headstones within community cemeteries, and agreed to write to the Scottish Government; 

PE1948: Improve the way that unexplained deaths are dealt with, and agreed to write to Police Scotland; 

PE1950: Ensure immunosuppressed people in Scotland can access the Evusheld antibody treatment, and agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders.

2. Consideration of new petitions:

The Committee considered the following continued petitions— 

PE1998: End legal loopholes for the Monarchy,  and agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders; 

PE2000: Ensure universities are held accountable to students under consumer law, and agreed to write to Universities Scotland and the National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland; 

PE2001: Withdraw the 'Supporting transgender young people in schools' guidance from Scottish schools, and agreed to write to COSLA, the National Gender Identity Clinical Network for Scotland, LGBT Youth Scotland, the Scottish Trans Alliance, Connect (the Scottish Parent Teacher Council), the National Parent Forum of Scotland, and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission; 

PE2002: Ensure access to legal aid for people with disabilities, and agreed to write to the Law Society of Scotland and the Scottish Legal Aid Board. 

3. Work programme (In Private):

The Committee considered its work programme to the end of June 2023, and agreed to arrange fact-finding visits in relation to PE1947: Address Scotland’s culture of youth violence; and to invite oral evidence on PE1992: Dual the A9 and improve road safety, from the Civil Engineering and Contractors Association, the Minister for Transport and Transport Scotland.