Chamber and committees

I support what members have said and I want to make the important point that, in the time that I have been in the Parliament, there have been a number of debates and committee discussions about the issue. Now, it is about us seeing what action is being taken. Getting that information from those organisations would be helpful and allow progression to the next stage, which is important for such urgent matters.

I declare an interest, as a registered landlord.

I have been approached by people who, although they acknowledge that there has been some movement, consider that there is no great urgency to see the issue as a key priority. I have been asked to raise with the committee that having an islander on HIAL’s board should be a priority. Beatrice Wishart from Shetland has spoken to me about how the community there feels that it is imperative that that happens. I want to share that with the committee.

You spoke about the responsibility of local government to provide water for young people. I am interested to know to what extent that is monitored. Do we have any evidence that water is freely available and how well young people can access it?

Similarly, my point is that it is very disappointing that we do not have a timeframe. There is a growing body of evidence that that is an important policy to progress. Commitments have been made on school meals but nothing has come forward. We should send a strongly worded letter to the minister asking that the Government please sets out an exact timeframe for the measure.

Thank you.

Okay. Thanks for explaining that a wee bit. I appreciate you doing that.

If there were one, two or three steps that you thought would be important for us to discuss as change, what would those be?

We will all be aware that there has been significant debate and discussion on violence against women and girls in Parliament. Do we have any information about whether any of the other committees have done any work around education, either in the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee or the Education, Children and Young People Committee? If so, it would be interesting to look at that evidence.

You talked about changes in the guidance. Do you know whether schools still give out disposable bottles or whether the provision is more sustainable now?

I am broadly supportive of the petition, and I have been approached by other members of the Parliament to suggest that we could seek further information on what happens within the school education system and how we could support proper education around what is often a sensitive issue for young people at school, particularly for young women. I would be keen to see whether we could get together some of the information and see how the issue is taken up in the school curriculum.