1,000th petition for Scottish Parliament
5 Oct 06
Petitions to people's parliament have made a difference: Presiding Officer
Secondary school pupils from Glasgow protesting about the cheap price of alcohol in local supermarkets yesterday handed in what was officially recognised as the 1,000th petition to be considered by MSPs.
The pupils - James McKee, Roisin Craig and Dilusha Pathirana - had been shocked to discover cider priced at 11p a can and strong ale for 20p.
The Petitions Committee convener Michael McMahon said there had a been a little massaging of the figures to give the pupils the honour of the 1,000th petition, but that it was a timely intervention in the light of current concerns over Scotland's drinking habits.
Holyrood's Presiding Officer George Reid said the Petitions Committee was a genuine achievement for the parliament. In the last six years, petitions handed in by members of the public have led to changes in the law.
Examples include the petition received by the villagers of Blairingone who complained about local fields being spread with raw sewage, chicken blood and abattoir remains. This led to a ban on the use of raw sewage on fields.
Another example is the petition handed in by a man whose three-year-old daughter died after being scalded by hot water. His petition called on parliament to make thermostatic mixing valves compulsory on all new or upgraded plumbing and this became law this year.
Mr Reid said politicians had been united in wanting the parliament to be accessible to people in Scotland, and that other countires, such as Australia, Germany, Italy and France, were all looking at adopting a similar system.