Minutes: 09 September 2025

1. Decision on taking business in private:

The Committee agreed to take items 5 and 6 in private.

2. Pre-Budget Scrutiny:

The Committee took evidence from—

Professor Angela O'Hagan, Chair, Scottish Human Rights Commission;

Emma Congreve, Equality and Human Rights Budget Advisory Group and Deputy Director and Principal Knowledge Exchange Fellow, Fraser of Allander Institute;

Sara Cowan, Director, Scottish Women's Budget Group;

Allan Faulds, Senior Policy Officer, Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE);

and then from—

Shona Robison, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, Kaukab Stewart, Minister for Equalities, Rob Priestley, Head of Mainstreaming Unit and Alasdair Black, Deputy Director, Budget and Fiscal Coordination, Scottish Government.

3. Civil Legal Aid Inquiry (In Private):

The Committee considered and agreed a draft report.

4. British Sign Language Inquiry (In Private):

The Committee considered and agreed a draft report.

5. Work programme (In Private):

The Committee considered its work programme and agreed:

• to hold sessions on The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s updated code of practice for services, public functions and associations once it has been approved by the UK Parliament;
• not to commence any further scrutiny of the Commissioner for Older People (Scotland) Bill at this time;
• a programme of oral evidence to inform scrutiny of the Children (Withdrawal form Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill;
• its approach to its rurality inquiry; and
• to hold a session on the Scottish Government’s forthcoming action plan to respond to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ Concluding Observations.

6. Pre-Budget Scrutiny (In Private):

The Committee considered the evidence it heard earlier under agenda item 2.