Skip to main content
Loading…

Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

Filter your results Hide all filters

Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 4 May 2021
  6. Current session: 13 May 2021 to 31 October 2025
Select which types of business to include


Select level of detail in results

Displaying 1225 contributions

|

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee [Draft]

Decision on Taking Business in Private

Meeting date: 28 October 2025

Karen Adam

Good morning, and welcome to the 23rd meeting in 2025 of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. We have received no apologies.

Under agenda item 1, do members agree to take in private item 4, which is consideration of our work programme?

Members indicated agreement.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee [Draft]

Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 28 October 2025

Karen Adam

Before we move on to part 2 of the bill, I ask whether members are content that they have asked everything that they wish to ask on part 1. Members can always come in at the end, but I want to ensure that we have finished with questions on part 1 and that we make a distinction in moving on to part 2.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee [Draft]

Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 28 October 2025

Karen Adam

Cabinet secretary, some witnesses have suggested that part 2 of the bill is so distinct and different from part 1 that it should not be in the bill. What are your views on that?

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee [Draft]

Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 28 October 2025

Karen Adam

We will now have questions from Pam Gosal.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee [Draft]

Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 28 October 2025

Karen Adam

If members are content that they have asked everything that they wish to, that concludes our questions. I thank the cabinet secretary for joining us this morning.

That brings the public part of our meeting to a conclusion. We will now move into private session to consider the remaining items on our agenda.

11:18 Meeting continued in private until 11:53.  

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee [Draft]

Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 28 October 2025

Karen Adam

As you said in your opening statement, we have heard from a wide range of witnesses in the past few weeks. For various reasons, they have been quite critical of the bill. What is your response to that? Can you give those witnesses any assurances that the bill, in its current form, is necessary?

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee [Draft]

Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 28 October 2025

Karen Adam

We now go back to questions from Paul McLennan.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee [Draft]

Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 28 October 2025

Karen Adam

Under item 2, the committee will hold its final evidence session on the Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill. I welcome Jenny Gilruth, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills. She is accompanied by Lewis Hedge, deputy director of the curriculum and qualifications division; Joe Smith, children’s rights reporting and monitoring team leader; Denise McKay, deputy director of children, education, rights incorporation and disclosure in the Scottish Government legal directorate; and Sarah Booth, a lawyer from the Scottish Government legal directorate.

You are all very welcome, and I thank you for joining us. I invite the cabinet secretary to give a brief opening statement before we move to questions.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee [Draft]

Decision on Taking Business in Private

Meeting date: 7 October 2025

Karen Adam

Good morning, and welcome to the 22nd meeting in 2025 of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. We have received apologies from Pam Gosal, and Marie McNair will join us online. Our first agenda item is a decision on whether to take item 4 in private. Do we agree to do so?

Members indicated agreement.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee [Draft]

Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 7 October 2025

Karen Adam

Our next agenda item is taking evidence on the Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill. This is our second evidence session on the bill, and this morning we will hear from two panels of witnesses.

I welcome our first panel. We are joined in the room by: Juliet Harris, director, Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights); Gina Wilson, head of strategy, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland; and Gavin Yates, executive director, Connect. We are joined remotely by Louise Church, who is the Scottish Youth Parliament’s member for Galloway and West Dumfries and also a member of its education and lifelong learning committee.

We turn to questions from members. I ask our witnesses to indicate to me when they would like to come in to respond to a member’s question or to any of the points that are raised. Louise Church, if you wish to come in, please type R in the chat function and the clerks will bring that to my attention.

I will kick us off. Last week, the committee heard from three panels of witnesses. They were all quite critical of the bill in various ways, and they were not supportive of it. What are your thoughts on the general principles of the bill?