Chamber and committees

I whole-heartedly agree with your recommendations, convener, but I think that the committee should wait until we see the first stage of the review before we bring the petition back to the committee and take any further decisions on it.

I agree with Paul Sweeney’s comments. Can we also write to Police Scotland for information on how a family liaison officer is deployed and on their role, training and accountability in such situations?

Perhaps the committee could keep the petition open and, in doing so, write to the Scottish Government to ask whether the forthcoming housing bill will include provisions to prohibit local authorities from charging individuals for the provision of temporary accommodation, and whether the Government will give consideration to paying for temporary accommodation for homeless people and to waiving the outstanding debt that is owed by homeless people to local authorities for temporary accommodation.?

Thank you for that, minister.

Good morning, minister. Do you agree with the former Minister for Transport, Graeme Dey MSP, that

“It is neither tenable nor credible that”—[Official Report, 7 September 2021; c 94.]

island residents are not represented on the boards of organisations that provide lifeline services to their communities?

Yes—thank you, convener, and good morning to all the witnesses. In written evidence, the Scottish Taxi Federation argues that the current taxi and driver licensing regime under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 is no longer fit for purpose. Why do you think that, and how best could the system be brought up to date? Just to let you know, I was on the regulation and licensing board at Fife Council for 20 years.

My question is aimed at Murray Fleming and Robert McLean.

Minister, you have suggested in written evidence that there are alternative ways for island communities to engage with public bodies other than through places on boards. Are those alternatives really fit for purpose? If they are, why do island residents continue to press for a voice on the boards of relevant public bodies?

I wonder whether we can keep the petition open so that we can get more information. We could write to relevant stakeholder organisations, including the Mental Health Foundation, the Scottish Association for Mental Health, the Samaritans, the Scottish Recovery Network and the Laura Hyde Foundation, to seek their views on the value of, and the need for, the provision of peer support programmes in workplaces across Scotland.

Thank you, convener. I will remember not to pass on any petitions in the future. [Laughter.]

Some of the work that has been done on the petitions that are in front of us has been quite intense. I would therefore recommend the option of writing to rural health boards and bringing in the cabinet secretary for a meeting. I think that that would be a justified approach to take.

PE1915 asks for the reinstatement of Caithness County Council and Caithness NHS Board. I do not think that it is practical for us to do that, and I do not think that it will ever happen anyway. Therefore, we should probably close that petition.

In the presentation that we heard earlier, one of the recommendations was that

“A standardised definition of what ‘personalisation’ of care means should be developed.?”

How important is that? I will go to Professor Glasby first.