For decades, people in Nairn and surrounding areas have called for a bypass to take traffic from the A96 trunk road out of its town centre.
In 2011 the Scottish Government pledged to complete the dual carriageway network between all of Scotland’s cities – including the dualling of the A96 and Nairn Bypass, with a preferred route published in 2014.
In March 2024, Made Orders were published and the process for the acquisition of land required for the scheme started in May 2024.
At present there is no timeline for when the project is set to be delivered.
After more than a decade of delays, local communities continue to face worsening traffic congestion, pollution, and road safety risks.
With significant developments set to bring thousands of new residents and workers to the area, urgent action is needed to address these growing challenges which will further impact the livelihoods of communities affected.
Make it illegal to remove all the hair from a horse’s tail
- 19 Signatures
The tail is an extension of the horse's spine, made up of two parts: the dock, the skin and muscles covering the vertebrae; and long hairs (the skirt) that fall below the dock. It is a vital part of the horse’s anatomy serving several functions: balance and temperature regulation, pest deterrence, and communication of the horse’s mood.
The practice of completely docking a horse’s tail was banned in 1949.
Many horse breeders try to present their horses in a “historic manner”. As they cannot dock the tail, they remove all the hair from the tail, leaving the bare stump. That practice is cosmetic and can cause the horse stress, as well as exposing the horse to, or hiding, other conditions.
An alternative to removing tail hair is braiding which keeps the hair out of harm's way and can be undone easily allowing the tail to function as it should.
Ensure abortion services are available up to 24 weeks across all parts of Scotland
- 141 Signatures
I previously called for this action as part of [petition PE1969: Amend the law to fully decriminalise abortion in Scotland] (https://petitions.parliament.scot/petitions/PE1969) and feel that this aspect was not responded to by the Scottish Government during the consideration of that petition.
Recent media reports suggest that there is only one doctor in Scotland who is trained to provide surgical abortions up to the legal limit, which is forcing vulnerable people to travel to England to end their pregnancies.
STV news have reported that “the number of women and girls travelling to England from Scotland for abortion care has been rising – going from 42 in 2021 to 65 in 2022 and 68 in 2023. By April this year, 26 women were already forced to make the journey”.
Funding for general practice has always been too low for service provision and currently sits at 8% of the total NHS Scotland budget, while accounting for approximately 80% of the work done in healthcare provision.
The impact of poor funding is multifaceted and adversely affects areas of socio-economic deprivation, like Drumchapel, as well as highland and rural areas. This causes widening health inequalities and poorer health outcomes for communities.
Many primary care buildings are well overdue renovation or complete replacement throughout the country, and often hospital buildings get preference for capital funding.
Improving the building stock of general practice, by ensuring enough treatment rooms that meet health and safety and infection control requirements, will significantly improve appointment availability. Better community health, as well as having a positive impact on presentations to emergency departments, is much easier to achieve as a result.
The Education (Scotland) Act 1918 integrated Catholic schools into the public system, ensuring support for their religious identity. However, the absence of standardised demand assessment and funding support has led to regional inconsistencies in access to Catholic education. Councils like Aberdeen face barriers to establishing Catholic schools despite demand, unlike councils in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Dundee. This petition calls consistent and equitable standards that ensure access to Catholic education across Scotland.
A set, standardised criteria would provide standards to objectively assess demand, which would help local authorities avoid arbitrary thresholds or inconsistent measures in their decision making. A standardised consultation process would guarantee that all community voices are given equal representation, thus creating a more inclusive process.
Grant Scottish rivers, including the River Clyde, the legal right to personhood
- 265 Signatures
The [Universal Declaration of River Rights (UDRR, 2020) was first developed by Earth Law Center in 2017] (https://www.earthlawcenter.org/river-rights) and provides a framework of six minimum rights that are possessed by rivers.
Our podcast, 'Who owns the Clyde?', centres around the unrealised potential of the Clyde due to fragmented ownership and inconsistent stewardship. Granting the Clyde legal personhood would enable ecological and common human interests to thrive.
International examples of granting legal personhood to rivers as a means of protecting natural habitats and the common good include:
* Whanganui River, New Zealand granted personhood in 2017
* Hundreds of Bangladesh's rivers were legally designated as living people in 2019
* 2021, Canada's Magpie River, called the Mutuhekau Shipu by the Innu First Nation, gained legal personhood.
We held three well-attended events joined by residents, Leader of the Glasgow City Council Susan Aitken, Councillor Graham Campbell, Paul Sweeney MSP, Councillor Holly Bruce, and former MSPs Sandra Whyte and Andy Wightman.
While on the waiting list myself, I discovered that post mastectomy (delayed) breast reconstructions were stopped in the UK during COVID restrictions in 2020 and that there is still a long waiting list for this procedure. The information about waiting times is not clear when patients are told that they have breast cancer and need a mastectomy. Patients can still opt for a delayed reconstruction not knowing that it could take years or never happen at all!
It’s a disgrace and the Scottish Government needs to address the waiting time for delayed reconstructions immediately. Communication with patients about waiting times must be improved to make sure they are aware of the realistic timeline for undergoing this procedure.
The Scottish Government’s vision is for Scotland to have the best air quality in Europe. Progress has been made to meet the legal limits for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), with 2022 being the first year, excluding lockdown years, Scotland has not breached the limits. Local authority reports in 2023 showed all automatic monitoring sites recorded NO2 and PM2.5 under the limits of 40 µg/m^3 and 10 µg/m^3 – the legal limits enacted in the Air Quality Standards (Scotland) Regulations 2010, based on the 2005 World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines.
In 2021, [WHO produced updated air quality guidelines] (https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/345329/9789240034228-eng.pdf) which halved the previously recommended limits. Using the 2023 local authority annual reports, Asthma + Lung UK Scotland found that only 60 of the 85 automatic monitoring sites would meet the new 2021 guidelines for NO2 and 35 of the 82 monitoring sites would meet the guidelines for PM2.5.
Develop a new Digital Connectivity Plan for the Highlands and Islands
- 69 Signatures
The Scottish Government should introduce a new comprehensive Digital Connectivity Plan specifically designed for the Highlands and Islands.
Despite progress, rural and island communities still face significant broadband and mobile coverage gaps, impacting local businesses, healthcare, education, and quality of life. 25% of Shetland households experience speeds under 30Mbps, and mobile service is unreliable in many areas, reducing opportunities for growth and tourism. The upcoming retirement of copper phone lines by 2027 and the shutdown of radio teleswitch meters by 2025 adds urgency to the situation.
This petition urges investment in digital infrastructure, public-private partnerships, and regular progress updates to improve coverage and bridge the digital divide.
Enhancing connectivity will enable economic development, support remote healthcare services, and improve educational access, ensuring these communities can thrive in the modern economy.
The Witches of Scotland campaign highlights 3,837 people were accused of witchcraft in Scotland, with 84% being women. Granting posthumous justice to these victims acknowledges a dark chapter in our history driven by misogyny. This remains relevant today, given the increasing misogyny in our society and ongoing witch accusations and persecution in other parts of the world.
The [public consultation for Natalie Don’s proposed Member’s Bill] (https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/legislation/proposed-members-bills/final-consultation-summary--witchcraft-convictions-pardons-bill-proposal-withdrawn-1.pdf) gathered 1,443 responses, with 82% fully supporting the Bill. Those in favour highlighted that:
* Scotland should acknowledge and apologise for the errors of its past and honour those unfairly persecuted under the Witchcraft Act 1563.
* If passed, the proposed bill would convey a strong message of equality and opposition to misogyny in contemporary society.
* Enacting a pardon would send a powerful message globally to nations that continue to persecute individuals on grounds of alleged witchcraft.
Ms Don withdrew the proposal following appointment to the Scottish Government.