Chamber and committees

I wonder whether the committee would like to write to the National Day Nurseries Association, the Scottish Private Nursery Association, the parents group—Connect—and COSLA to seek views on the issues that have been raised by the petition. The committee could also write to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, highlighting the submissions that the committee has received and the call that was raised in PE2111 to fund early learning and childcare from nine months old. The committee could seek an update on the work to develop new childcare offers, including details of any discussion that the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government on the issue, specifically the financial support that is available to families.

Would the committee consider writing to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport to note the delay in the publication of the strategic transport projects review 2 delivery plan and to ask when it will be published, and to ask whether the new UK Government has reaffirmed its commitment to provide multiyear funding to improve the A75?

Perhaps the committee would consider writing to the Scottish Government to ask whether it intends to take any action on private wastewater systems in response to the water, wastewater and drainage policy consultation findings. We could ask whether the Government recognises that, by prioritising its enforcement activity on incidents that have the greatest environmental impact or involve significant non-compliance, SEPA is not addressing actions that fall under that threshold but still have a significant impact on people’s quality of life?

I have a personal interest in the issue. It is close to my heart, because I know someone whose life was saved by a defibrillator and I know how important it is for the public to have easy access to them. Perhaps the committee would consider writing to the current Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health to ask whether she is confident that relying on community fundraising, businesses and organisational resources to purchase defibrillators will ensure that the Scottish Government meets the 2026 targets in the out of hospital cardiac arrest strategy, which are that 20 per cent of all cardiac arrest patients will have a defibrillator applied before the Ambulance Service arrives and that survival from OHCA will increase to 15 per cent. Perhaps we could also ask what the Scottish Government’s rationale is for not engaging with the UK Government on the issue of defibrillator provision through the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1947.

I wonder whether the committee would consider writing to the Minister for Higher and Further Education to ask what consideration the Scottish Government has given to the recommendations of the practice learning funding report and what actions will be taken to implement its findings, and to ask whether the Scottish Government will meet the petitioners to discuss the findings of the practice learning funding report.

Perhaps the committee could consider writing to the Law Society of Scotland to seek information on the number of applications that have been made to the client protection fund in each of the past five years and the outcomes of those applications. Further, we could write to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission to seek information on the number of complaints that it has received in each of the past five years relating to concerns about a client’s capacity or coercive behaviour by solicitors, and on how many times those complaints have been upheld.

The committee could write to the Scottish Government to seek an update on the work of the national community link worker advisory group, specifically on what consideration has been given to introducing baseline funding that would provide secure, long-term funding for CLW roles.

Convener, I cannot see whether Mr Kempe wants to answer.

I have one final question. The appraisal panel report noted that there might be complementary or alternative mechanisms for addressing the challenges that are set out in national parks proposals. Are there policy approaches or mechanisms that you would like to see in advance of or in addition to the designation of new national parks?

I know that consultation with local communities and groups is really important. How much consultation has been done on the proposal for a national park in Galloway with the whole range of local groups and communities, such as community councils and the NFUS?