Chamber and committees

I have sympathy with the petition, but the Scottish Government has stated that it will not impose a statutory duty on the 32 local authorities because it is up to them to decide whether they fund public toilets. As somebody who has seen the comfort scheme work really well in Fife along the coastal path—

I am reluctant to close the petition, even though the Scottish Government has said that it will not widen the scope of the inquiry. We should try again, by writing to the new Deputy First Minister to reiterate the committee’s recommendations that the Scottish Government extend the Scottish child abuse inquiry’s terms of reference to include religious organisations or establish a separate public inquiry to address the issues that are highlighted in the petition and to ask what work has been undertaken since the submission in January to consider the recommendations in the report on child protection in religious organisations and settings in England and Wales. We should also ask how the Scottish Government monitors the implementation of national guidance for child protection, what steps it is taking to ensure that religious organisations are aware of and adhering to the guidance, and how it demonstrates its function of supporting and challenging religious organisations on those issues.

There is nowhere for us to go, because the Scottish Government has been very clear that it will not impose a statutory duty on councils. I ask the committee to consider closing the petition under rule 15.7 of standing orders, on the basis that the Scottish Government has no plans at this time to make provision of public toilets a statutory obligation on local authorities.

Good morning, everyone. To what extent does the existence of all-year-round pressures now make the concept of winter planning redundant?

Thank you. You have partly answered my next question. How do you respond to the suggestion that winter planning is now redundant because of the existence of year-round pressures, which require year-round planning?

How will you ensure that winter planning accommodates the needs of different professions?

Good morning, everyone. Last year’s winter plan was criticised for coming too late. It was published in October. When will this year’s winter plan be published?

The committee has heard evidence that the 2022-23 winter planning and associated funding came too late. If policy makers intend to continue with the creation of an annual winter plan in the future, how can the timings for its development be improved to accommodate the needs of different professions?

We could invite the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition to give evidence to the committee at the earliest opportunity, after she or the Minister for Transport has provided a statement to the Parliament on the revised timetable for the dualling of the A9.

I suggest that we write to the Scottish Assessors Association, the Holiday Home Association and the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers to seek their views on the action that is called for in the petition. We should also write to the Scottish Government to ask whether it will consider adding self-catering holiday accommodation to the list of properties that are unable to qualify for the small business bonus scheme, and whether it will consider any other legislative changes—such as changes to the definition of self-catering holiday accommodation and the 70-day rule—that could address the issue raised in the petition.