Chamber and committees

We could write to BT Openreach to ask whether, in light of information that work is sequenced from the primary exchange location out to communities, it considers areas with low speeds in the surrounding communities when determining which primary exchange locations to prioritise. Our papers contain a list of other questions, so we could just add them, convener.

I agree, convener. In the light of the evidence that we have been given, I would like to close the petition under rule 15.7 of the standing orders, on the basis that the Scottish Government’s consultation on early learning and childcare found that responses favoured alternative approaches and highlighted potential drawbacks to using an online account. In addition, the Scottish Childminding Association raised concerns about problems arising from an online account system and suggested that it would not resolve existing issues with funding for early learning and childcare.

I wonder whether we might consider writing to the Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise to ask the Scottish Government what data it has on the number of care-experienced people who have been removed from compulsory supervision orders before their 16th birthday and asking it to provide further information on the steps that it is taking to address the issue of children and young people being removed from CSOs before their 16th birthdays without the long-term consequences on their support being explained. We could ask whether the Scottish Government has considered providing some form of redress to care-experienced people who were removed from CSOs prior to their 16th birthday but who would have remained on a CSO had they been made aware of the long-term consequences of the decision.

We could also seek clarity on the timeline for updating guidance in relation to the provision of continuing and aftercare services, and on what further progress the Scottish Government intends to make on the issues raised by the petition that do not require legislative change between now and the introduction of the Promise bill. Lastly, we could recommend that the Scottish Government explore options for accelerating work on its Promise bill and for making effective use of existing evidence to ensure that care-experienced people of all ages do not have to relive traumatic experiences through multiple consultation processes.

Considering the Scottish Government’s view and the evidence that is before the committee, we have no other option except to close the petition under rule 15.7 of the standing orders, on the basis that the Scottish Government does not consider that malicious false allegations should in themselves be considered as a hate crime. Behaviour amounting to false allegations can be dealt with under existing common law, with hate crime legislation enabling a statutory aggravation to be added when a false allegation is motivated by characteristics that are listed in the hate crime legislation. The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 covers the protected characteristics of age, disability, race, colour, nationality or ethnic and national origins, religion or perceived religious affiliation, sexual orientation and transgender identity. It also includes the power to add variations in sex characteristics to that list.

Good morning. You have answered most of my questions on the reasons why young people get involved in violence. Do the same reasons apply when it comes to young people getting involved in minor criminal offences or antisocial behaviour? Are the causes the same?

Professor Britton, in your work as a respiratory consultant are you seeing an increasing number of younger patients as a result of vaping, and how are they presenting?

Good morning, witnesses. Can you provide an overview of the strength of the association between nicotine, brain development and mental health problems? Who would like to go first?

Yes, a bit like Laurel and Hardy—?

Considering the responses that we have had from the Government, I suggest that we write to the Minister for Energy and the Environment to recommend that guidance is produced to clarify how falconers can practise in licensed activities; the areas in which there is not a high density of mountain hare; and what action to take if a bird accidentally takes a mountain hare.

I also suggest that we write to Police Scotland to ask how reports of mountain hare being taken in areas of low density will be recorded and how that information will be shared with NatureScot and falconers.

Further, I suggest that we write to NatureScot to ask how it will monitor reports from Police Scotland and whether it will work to produce maps for falconers to indicate which areas are considered suitable for birds of prey to fly within. If NatureScot intends to produce maps, we could ask how it intends to evaluate and update the information in the light of reports from Police Scotland.

I ask the committee to consider writing to the University of Glasgow, seeking further information about the evaluation of the equally safe at school strategy, as noted in Rape Crisis Scotland’s submission, including details about the scope of the evaluation and its expected timescale for reporting. We could also write to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to ask for an update on the work of the gender equality task force in education and learning to establish what educational resources exist that cover gender inequality. The committee could also ask for an indication of what the task force’s next steps will be when it completes its work.