PPC/S5/16/4/A PUBLIC PETITIONS COMMITTEE AGENDA 4th Meeting, 2016 (Session 5) Thursday 29 September 2016 The Committee will meet at 9.30 am in the Mary Fairfax Somerville Room (CR2). 1. Consideration of continued petitions: The Committee will consider- PE1223 by Ron Beaty on school bus safety; PE1319 by William Smith and Scott Robertson on improving youth football in Scotland; PE1408 by Andrea MacArthur on updating of pernicious anaemia/vitamin B12 deficiency understanding and treatment; PE1458 by Peter Cherbi on register of interests for members of Scotland’s judiciary; PE1463 by Sandra Whyte, Marian Dyer and Lorraine Cleaver on effective thyroid and adrenal testing, diagnosis and treatment; PE1480 by Amanda Kopel, on behalf of The Frank Kopel Alzheimer's Awareness Campaign, on alzheimer’s and dementia awareness and PE1533 by Jeff Adamson, on behalf of Scotland Against the Care Tax, on abolition of non-residential social care charges for older and disabled people; PE1517 by Elaine Holmes and Olive McIlroy, on behalf of Scottish Mesh Survivors - Hear Our Voice campaign, on polypropylene mesh medical devices; PE1540 by Douglas Philand on permanent solution for the A83; PE1545 by Ann Maxwell, on behalf of Muir Maxwell Trust, on residential care provision for the severely learning disabled; PE1563 by Doreen Goldie, on behalf of Avonbridge and Standburn Community Council, on sewage sludge spreading; PE1568 by Catherine Hughes on funding, access and promotion of the NHS CIC; PE1577 by Rachael Wallace on adult cerebral palsy services; PE1581 by Duncan Wright, on behalf of Save Scotland's School Libraries, on save Scotland’s school libraries; PE1586 by James A Mackie, on behalf of Innes Community Council, on statutory control measures for invasive non-native species; PE1591 by Catriona MacDonald, on behalf of SOS-NHS, on major redesign of healthcare services in Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross; PE1592 by Shaheen McQuade on group B Strep information and testing; PPC/S5/16/4/A PE1593 by Paul Quigley, on behalf of Fans Against Criminalisation, on a full review of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012; PE1595 by Alexander Taylor on moratorium on shared space schemes; PE1598 by Guy Linley-Adams, on behalf of Salmon & Trout Conservation Scotland, on protecting wild salmonids from sea lice from Scottish salmon farms; PE1600 by John Chapman on speed awareness courses; PE1601 by Andy Myles on European beavers in Scotland; PE1602 by Carol Sunnucks on ECGs and heart echo tests within antenatal care. Catherine Fergusson Clerk to the Public Petitions Committee Room T3.40 The Scottish Parliament Edinburgh Tel: 0131 348 5186 Email: [email protected] PPC/S5/16/4/A The papers for this meeting are as follows— Agenda item 1 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/1 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/2 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/3 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/4 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/5 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/6 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/7 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/8 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/9 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/10 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/11 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/12 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/13 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/14 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/15 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/16 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/17 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/18 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/19 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/20 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/21 Note by the Clerk PPC/S5/16/4/22 PPC/S5/16/4/1 Public Petitions Committee 4th Meeting, 2016 (Session 5) Thursday 29 September 2016 PE1223: School bus safety Note by the Clerk Petitioner Ron Beaty Petition Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to summary take all appropriate action, whether through amending guidance, contracts, agreements or legislation, to require local authorities to install proper safety signage and lights on school buses, to be used only when school children are on the bus when necessary, and make overtaking a stationary school bus a criminal offence. Webpage http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01223 Introduction 1. The Session 4 Public Petitions Committee last considered this petition at its meeting on 1 March 2016. At that meeting, the Committee agreed to include this petition in its legacy paper for the Session 5 Public Petitions Committee to consider. The Scottish Government and the petitioner have provided submissions and the Committee is invited to consider what action it wishes to take. Background 2. This petition was lodged in January 2009 and is the longest-standing petition under the Committee’s consideration. 3. Previously this petition was considered alongside PE1098, which called for seatbelts to be installed on school buses. PE1098 was closed on 12 May 2015 after the Scottish Government advised that the relevant Order was being devolved and noted its support for legislation on the issue in the future. 1 2 In this regard, Gillian Martin MSP introduced a proposed Members Bill, the Seat Belts and School Transport (Scotland) Bill, on 26 August 2016. 4. This petition seeks to prohibit overtaking school buses; and to change law or practice in relation to the use and size of the school bus safety 1 The Order was approved by the Privy Council on 8 October 2015. 2 http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/news/minister-outlines-safety-plans-school-transport 1 PPC/S5/16/4/1 sign and the use of light beacons on school buses. These issues are principally reserved to Westminster and the UK Government has indicated that it has no intention to devolve further powers. 3 The Scottish Government has also expressed concern about prescribing permanent sign fixtures on school buses because the vehicles are often used for other purposes.4 5. Despite the reservations in law and concerns about permanent fixtures, the Scottish Government has some scope to make guidelines for local authorities about the proper display of signs and the use of signs larger than the minimum size prescribed by legislation. In 2010, the Scottish Government published A Guide to Improving School Transport Safety in which it highlighted the work undertaken by Aberdeenshire Council to improve school bus safety. Following a review of the Guide in 2013, the Scottish Government conducted workshops for local authorities on the guidance.5 6. In 2014, the Scottish Government developed a proposal to conduct a pilot programme on school bus signage in an urban setting with Glasgow City Council.6 Glasgow City Council’s evaluation report was published on 16 November 2015. The evaluation involved a virtual hazard perception test, an on-road test and piloting signs with different school transport providers. 7. The testing revealed that many participants did not recognise the school bus sign as a hazard warning and did not respond accordingly. For example, no participants identified the statutory minimum sign during the hazard perception test and only 13% of participants in the on-road test knew that the current sign is used to identify a bus transporting children to school. 8. Overall, the report found that larger school bus signage accompanied by flashing lights improves visibility and awareness but other measures will also be needed to address the issues identified in the pilot programme. It also found that uptake of existing guidance on the proper display of the school bus sign by local authority contracted bus operators is poor. 9. In response to the pilot programme, the Scottish Government wrote to the UK Government on 12 November 2015 asking it to take measures to improve awareness of the UK school bus sign in the UK Highway Code and driving test. Transport Scotland updated the Committee on 23 February 2016 to advise that the UK Government had responded positively to its request, indicating it will examine the prominence of the 3 Department of Transport Letter, 31 December 2015. 4 Transport Scotland letter, 23 February 2016. 5 Transport Scotland Written Submission, 20 May 2014; Transport Scotland Written Submission, 02 April 2014.. 6 Transport Scotland Written Submission, 3 October 2014. 2 PPC/S5/16/4/1 sign in the hazard perception tests in the UK driving test and move references to the school bus sign in the Highway Code to a more prominent place. 10. The latest version of the Highway Code was published on 16 September 2016. The Scottish Government’s suggested amendments have been implemented, such that the school bus sign is now displayed beside Rule 209: “Drive carefully and slowly when passing a stationary school bus showing a ‘school bus’ sign as children may be getting on or off.” 11. The petitioner’s response dated 16 February 2016 considered that whatever measures are agreed to improve the visibility and awareness of school buses, it is important that those measures should be consistently implemented across Scotland. In his view, Transport Scotland has made insufficient progress on this issue. 12. Transport Scotland advised in its submission dated 23 February 2016 that it was considering the implications from the Glasgow pilot programme to see whether any further action is required. Committee Consideration 13. Transport Scotland’s submission dated 21 September 2016 commended the petitioner for his work on school bus safety in Scotland. It explains that the variety of ways different local authorities deliver school transport, including the types of vehicles and local conditions, lead it to conclude that a national roll out of enhanced school bus signage in the way called for by the petitioner would not be “practical or justified at the current time”.