Convener Johann Lamont notes the petitioner wants Registers of Scotland the check the validity of maps and arrange resurveys where there are any disputes.

The ability to raise errors with the land tribunal is not widely known, Ms Lamont notes the petitioner argues.

SNP MSP Angus Macdonald wonders if there are capacity issues at Registers of Scotland.

Tory MSP Michelle Ballantyne agrees there is a need to consider the issues raised, given the time bars in place and often a lack of public awareness around boundary changes.

The convener confirms the committee will write to the Scottish government on the matter.

The petition calls for a review of the The Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012 particularly with regard to

1. the cadastral map
2. the provision of supporting materials such as death certificates

Image source, Registers of Scotland

What is a cadastral map?

A cadastral map is a map defining land ownership. The land register cadastral map is further defined by the Act as a map showing all registered geospatial data relating to registered plots.

Read more here., external

The Public Petitions Committee is now considering a petition on the Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012.

Image source, bbc

Committee convener Johann Lamont asks for views from her fellow MSPs on this petition.

Tory MSP Brian Whittle says the committee should write to the Scottish government.

It agrees it should write to the Forestry Comission,the National Trust and Cosla, as well as individual local authorities and any related aleos and SNH.

Mr Reid points out there are no ranger s left on Skye.

Scottish Countryside Rangers Association chair George Potts says being a ranger is a young vibrant profession.

Mr Potts says many changes have been led by the rangers.

Mr Reid says the pressure on the association at the moment is just to survive.

Image source, bbc

SNP MSP Rona Mackay asks when the survey the Scottish Countryside Rangers Association (SCRA) is carrying out will be completed.

Mr Reid says it is a telephone conversation with every rangers service in Scotland and it is not yet complete.

He says there are questions within the survey about where the association sits and he hopes the survey will be complete by the end of February.

The SCRA representative suggests the government should deal with collating statistics and adds senior ranger posts, main grade posts and seasonal posts have been lost.

No one in Scotland knows how many rangers there are, Robert Reid says.

It looks like 100 posts have be lost in recent years according to a survey the Scottish Countryside Rangers Association is currently working on, he suggests.

Tory MSP Brian Whittle asks if anything has changed since SNH created the framework in 2008.

Robert Reid says the Association did not have any input on the framework but was tasked with implementing it on the ground.

George Potts adds the job has remained much the same for decades, but it is the language around it which has changed.

They both agree the 2008 framework is still relevant.

Chair of the Scottish Countryside Rangers Association George Potts says attempts by some bodies to redefine the role of rangers actually weakened the service.

The social return of investment in ranger services is £10 to every £1 invested, Mr Potts states.

He warns the services in Scotland may soon start to decline.

The petition is calling for the Scottish government to implement the strategic framework for the network of countryside rangers services set out in the document from Scottish Natural Heritage, Rangers in Scotland, external.

Image source, SNH

According to the SPICe briefing on the petition, external, the framework:

• aims to better define the role of rangers and to enhance recognition for the role
• calls for local authorities and other employers to be more consistent in their use of ‘ranger’ in job titles and descriptions
• proposes co-ordinated work between SNH, the SCRA and Cosla to support continuing professional development programmes and opportunities for rangers

Image source, bbc

The committee is now taking evidence on a petition on a national strategic framework for countryside ranger services, external from:

• George Potts, Chair of the Scottish Countryside Rangers Association
• Robert Reid Scottish Countryside Rangers Association

The committee agrees to write to the Scottish government for its view on the petition and what alternatives have been considered in the budget to further mitigate cuts.

Convener Johann Lamont also notes awareness of benefit entitlement is also an issue worth looking into.

The committee will consider passing the petition to the Social Security Committee at a later date.

Image source, bbc

Tory MSP Michelle Ballantyne asks why the petitioner did not write to the Conservative group at Holyrood.

Dr Sarah Glynn says she was writing to try and deal with the Conservative cuts at Westminser and felt the Tory MSPs backed them, but she agrees to include them in future.

Johann Lamont say: "If it creates some more rebels that would be interesting"

Image source, Getty Images

Emergency payments worth £2.2m have been paid to people in Scotland struggling to pay for basics like food and heating, according to a report in October.

Scottish government statistics, external revealed that more than 42,000 applications for crisis grants were made between 1 April and 30 June - up 11% on last year.

Ministers said the "chaotic roll-out" of universal credit was to blame.

The Department for Work and Pensions said the "vast majority" of grants were given out for other reasons.

• Read more about the grants here.
• What is universal credit?
• 'Universal Credit isn't a fair system'
• MSPs call for halt to Universal Credit

Image source, Lukassek

The Scottish government has confirmed that its social security legislation will allow people to have someone with them during welfare assessments.

A bill is currently under consideration at Holyrood to set up Scotland's own devolved social security system.

Social security minister Jeane Freeman said people would have the right to be accompanied during assessments.

The UK government welcomed the announcement, and said this was already the case under the current system.

Read more.

Tory MSP Michelle Ballantyne seeks further information on preferred changes to the tax system.

Dr Glynn says the changes agreed in the Budget Bill yesterday is an improvement, but she would also like to see broader changes such as a land value tax.

She disagrees with the idea that higher taxes will result in people leaving Scotland, pointing to evidence from Nordic countries which suggest people cherish the public sector taxes support.

Mr McArdle notes powers to deal with tax evasion and avoidance are reserved and argues more must be done on this.

Every person receiving Personal Independence Payments (PIP) will have their claim reviewed, the Department for Work and Pensions has said.

A total of 1.6 million of the main disability benefit claims will be reviewed, with around 220,000 people expected to receive more money.

It comes after the DWP decided not to challenge a court ruling that said changes to PIP were unfair to people with mental health conditions.

The review could cost £3.7bn by 2023.

• What is the row around PIPs all about?
• U-turn in disability benefits row
• Why I secretly taped my disability assessment

Ministers made changes to PIP in 2017 which limited the amount of support people with mental health conditions could receive.

As a result, people who were unable to travel independently on the grounds of psychological distress - as opposed to other conditions - were not entitled to the enhanced mobility rate of the benefit.