Mr Stewart speaking at a conference on public participation in Gauteng, South Africa.
range of issues to be raised. Some of the petitions currently under consideration seek the following:
• Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish government to carry out an immediate review of the use of insulin pump therapy and address the low and inequitable access across Scotland. • Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish government to consider the need for new legislation and provision to protect, support and assist victims of crime. • Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish government to investigate certain issues relating to youth football. For example, better protection for young footballers who sign with professional clubs, fewer restrictions on those young players, better facilities and better accountability for public funds paid to football governing bodies. • Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish
government to set up a Scottish Cancer Drug Fund. While England has a specific cancer drug fund, Scotland does not.
Engagement with few limitations Many of the petitions which are considered by the committee will start with a simple phone call to the clerks. A great deal of effort goes in at this stage to talking people through the process, giving advice on wording as well as what to expect. The Scottish Parliament’s website also provides guidance for people wanting to bring a petition and explains what information they should provide and what the Parliament can consider. For example, petitions may not ask for adjudication on a personal or commercial interest which should be determined by a court or other tribunal. The Scottish Parliament was
the first Parliament in the world to have an e-petitions system. Our facility was launched in 2004 and at the time it was a great innovation
and one in which there was a lot of interest from the public, from Parliamentarians across the world and from academics. In this digital age, e-petitions enable people to promote their petition on the internet, attract a wider audience and allow the petition to gather support. It also provides the opportunity to generate debate on the topic, which in itself can help to generate and promote engagement. Last year the United Kingdom
government launched an e- petitions site. At the time, there was widespread media coverage because the U.K. government had decided that any e-petition which received 100,000 signatures or more would be eligible for a debate in the House of Commons. However, unlike the U.K.
government petitions system, at the Scottish Parliament there is no threshold for the number of signatures needed before a petition can go forward. Only one signature – that of the person submitting the petition – is needed
in order for it to be lodged. All petitions which are formally lodged are considered by the Public Petitions Committee. It does not matter if the petition has only one signature or if there are thousands, the issue raised by the petition is considered on its merit. This means that anyone who has lodged a public petition really does have the potential to influence policy and see change.
Keeping up with technology Public petitions in themselves will not transform societies into dynamic, inclusive and pluralistic communities. But my experience as Convener of the Scottish Parliament‘s Public Petitions Committee is that they undoubtedly contribute, are meaningful and work best when the system is embedded in the Parliament system, truly holds government to account, is fearless, emboldened and constantly seeks to engage with the public it aims to represent. During the course of the past