Chamber and committees

I thank Murdo Fraser and Rhoda Grant for their attendance. That concludes the public session of the meeting. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 8 March.

Thank you. I will move to my colleagues.

Our next new petition is PE1984, on introducing the C100 form for child arrangement orders in Scotland, which has been lodged by Amy Stevenson.

The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to reduce the financial barriers that prevent parents from having contact with their children by introducing a Scottish equivalent to the C100 form, with a fixed fee for making applications for child residence or child contact orders.

Members may recall that we previously considered a petition from Amy Stevenson, which focused on the provision of legal aid to parents fighting for access to their children. Amy has followed up on that petition with this call for the introduction of a form similar to the C100 form used in England and Wales when applying to the court for a child arrangement order. Amy suggests that introducing a similar form in Scotland, along with a fixed fee for submitting it, would help to reduce the financial burden on parents seeking child residence or contact orders.

In responding to the petition, the Scottish Government set out the current process for applications to the court for child residence and contact orders, and the fees associated with that.

While accepting that the current procedures for lodging writs and defences in Scotland are viewed as difficult to understand, the Scottish Government highlights a range of issues that it would require to consider before moving to a forms-based system, including criticisms that the C100 form is too lengthy and can be difficult for vulnerable applicants to complete without assistance; the fact that the form may not capture all the relevant issues for the court to consider; and concerns that a forms-based approach may not be focused on the best interests of the child. It is also noted that a forms-based process may reduce costs at the initial application stage but would not rule out the need for applicants to access legal advice at other stages of the process.

The committee has also received submissions from Shared Parenting Scotland and Claire Baker MSP, copies of which are included in our meeting papers. I briefly highlight that Shared Parenting Scotland has suggested that the introduction of a C100 form, or something similar, would remove some barriers for parents who are trying to restore or establish a schedule of contact with their children, but that wider improvements are necessary to provide support to parents in those circumstances.

Do members have any suggestions or comments???

Stephanie, just take your time.

Thank you, Rhoda Grant.

I suggest that the clerks continue to discuss with the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee the possibility of an inquiry, and in the meantime we continue to gather evidence on the matter. We could also invite the petitioner to provide evidence to the committee and invite the Minister for Transport to provide evidence at future committee meetings, if that is acceptable to committee members.

Welcome back, everybody. We will now consider PE1862, lodged by Rona MacKay, Angus Campbell and Naomi Bremner on behalf of the Uist economic task force, which calls on the Scottish Parliament to?urge the Scottish Government to introduce community representation on boards of public organisations delivering lifeline services to island communities, in keeping with the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018.

At our previous consideration of the petition on 9 November 2022, we agreed to write to the Minister for Transport to seek information on the process for appointments to the board of David MacBrayne Ltd, and to seek an update on communication between the minister and Highland and Islands Airports Ltd—HIAL—about the proposal in the petition.

I am pleased to say that we have now received a response from the minister that sets out details of the advertising campaign to recruit two non-executive directors to the board of David MacBrayne Ltd. The minister highlights that an understanding of island life is a key criterion for those roles and that that will be fully explored and assessed throughout the recruitment process.

On HIAL, the minister notes that an understanding of the communities in which HIAL airports are located is an essential requirement for all board members. It also noted that HIAL has recently recruited a new finance director, who has also been appointed to its board. That person is an island resident.

The committee has also received a submission from our colleague Alasdair Allan MSP. He has reiterated his support for the petition and notes that, although progress is being made, individual appointments to the boards of HIAL and Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd do not necessarily mean the issues have been resolved.

Do members have any comments or suggestions?

It is okay. Just take your time.

I now suspend the meeting for a short while.

Thank you. Does everybody agree to take that approach?

Members indicated agreement.

We could write to the stakeholders involved, such as the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, Sexual Health Scotland, the British Medical Association, the Scottish Human Rights Commission, Abortion Rights Scotland and faith organisations—Interfaith Scotland, the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child and the Humanist Society Scotland—to seek their views on the actions that are called for in the petition.