Chamber and committees

As the Supreme Court judgment narrates, there is a complex reconciliation of two pieces of legislation that the Scottish Government is obliged to work within. Those are the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Equality Act 2010. I remind Russell Findlay that, on two occasions, the Scottish Government legislation that was passed in 2018, which was the subject of the legal challenge, was supported by decisions taken in courts in Scotland. That was not the case in the Supreme Court judgment, which I accept unreservedly.

As Mr Findlay knows, I am a believer in the rule of law. Therefore, the Government will take steps, as the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice set out to the Parliament on Tuesday, to make sure that all the regulatory changes that require to be made in the light of the Supreme Court’s decision are made. As we did in relation to the previous guidance, we will draw on the input of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, as the Government is obliged to do, given that the EHRC is the regulator of the Equality Act 2010.

The Scottish Government accepts the Supreme Court’s judgment. This Government is committed to protecting every woman’s rights, including through effective implementation of the public sector equality duty. We continue to take forward a phased programme of improvement to the operation of the public sector equality duty in Scotland and, in that work, will consider the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice will meet the Equality and Human Rights Commission later today and seek an update on the timing of its revised guidance, which is essential to fulfilling the statutory underpinnings of the approach that we take.

I give Pam Gosal the assurance that we will develop that guidance in a timely manner. As I said in my opening answer, there is a meeting today with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, whose advice we relied on for the previous guidance that we had in place and whose advice and guidance we will have to rely on in the future. The Government will report to Parliament about the progress that has been made in that respect. However, I recognise the need for us to put in place timely guidance to apply the judgment that the Supreme Court has arrived at.

I intend to ensure that the public sector equality duty is met and, as I have made clear to Parliament in all my answers on the subject, we will act within the law. Obviously, the Supreme Court gave legal clarity last week, and the Government must consider the details of that ruling to enable it to be applied in taking forward the public sector equality duty.

As I indicated in my earlier answer, I cannot go into details on the handling of a live planning appeal. All relevant information will be considered by ministers in coming to a determination on the issue. That determination will be arrived at as soon as it is practically possible to do so.

As the Government has already set out to the Parliament, we are considering the detail of the Supreme Court’s judgment and taking the necessary advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission about the application of that advice. That will have a bearing on the judgments that are made in relation to public services and, as is well established in our politics and discourse, I will expect all public bodies, including the Scottish Prison Service, to operate on that basis and within the law.

When I began my speech, I made the point that we are now in a situation in which we are not immune from changing international events. That is why we are having this debate. It is important that this Parliament reflects on the fact that the international community in which we reside is changing dramatically around us, and we have to be conscious of the implications of that.

If I want to give Mr Kerr a substantive answer on the implications of international trade changes that are emerging in the international community, I must have an understanding of those questions. I have to be held to account about my understanding of those questions by Parliament, because they will shape the response that I bring forward in leading the Government in exercising our devolved responsibilities.

We will, of course, have plenty of opportunity to discuss the domestic implications of those issues on 6 May, for example, when I will set out the programme for government, which will set out the further steps that the Government will take to implement our domestic agenda.

The international community will have seen that the Scottish Government has continued the important tradition of believing in the rule of law and accepting the Supreme Court judgment, which was at the heart of my responses last week.

I was developing a point about the importance of our having a values-based approach to the international situation that we face. Much of that is focused on the values of the European Union, which have served us well and which this Government would want to see endorsed in the future.

Our stance on international conflict is also relevant to the situation that we face. As a country, we have experienced the immediate implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Its displacement of people led to increased levels of migration that this country has positively responded to, but significant disruptions to economic activity have also come as a consequence of that conflict. I make that point to illustrate that the consequences of the international situation are felt directly and acutely here, in Scotland.

Parliament has also debated the horror of the attack by Hamas on Israel and the significance and the brutality of the Israeli response. We have been at the forefront of calling for a ceasefire in that conflict, which has enabled us to make our voices heard in arguing for peace and stability.

A benefit in recent weeks has been a sustained effort, which will be marked in Bute house this evening, of collaboration between the Jewish and Islamic communities in Scotland. They have come together to sign what is becoming known as the Drumlanrig accord—a unified declaration by representatives of the Jewish and Islamic communities that condemns hate crime, bigotry and xenophobia and sends a crucial message of unity and mutual respect when it is much needed. I applaud everyone who has been involved in shaping that declaration for what it does in our communities.

The issue of climate action has also been relevant to the formulation of our response to the changing international situation. There is more and more dismissing of the climate emergency, with populist leaders increasingly ready to trade the hope and the health of future generations for short-term gains. We have to recognise that climate change will increase conflict, hunger, disease, inequality and mortality. It has undeniably done so for some time. Last year alone, flooding displaced thousands in Brazil and South Sudan, and wildfires swept through regions of Canada, Portugal and California. In Scotland, we have seen the effect of severe storms, and we must act together to build a fairer, greener and more resilient economy and society as a consequence.

Mr Johnson makes an absolutely valid point. Globalisation has huge benefits but, at the same time as globalisation has happened and progress has taken place in countless societies around the world, there will be other societies that have experienced prolonged inequality. There will also be profound inequalities even in some of the societies that have benefited from globalisation. He is intimately familiar with the agenda that my Government is pursuing, which is addressing inequalities that exist in our society.

There is much substance to Mr Johnson’s point, and we must be alert to the implications of those inequalities and dangers as we wrestle with the fast-changing environment that is in front of us.

On behalf of the people of Scotland, I express my sadness at the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday. His loss will be felt most acutely in the Roman Catholic community here in Scotland and abroad, but his loss will be mourned by countless others who admired, respected and were inspired by the humble, kind and empathetic spiritual leadership that he gave to the world.

Pope Francis brought simplicity and humility to the papacy—he was a gentle spirit who preferred to receive people informally, and always with grace. In deeds and in words, he took forward his leadership of the Catholic church in a manner that was thoughtful, measured and conciliatory. His Holiness’s belief in the goodness of people was as unshakeable as his devotion to the church, and his papacy was defined by the message of Jesus Christ to love your neighbour as yourself.

As the first Pope from Latin America, he sought to build new bridges between nations and faiths. He spoke warmly to advocate for greater inclusivity, both within the church and throughout society. Pope Francis spoke loudly in calling for peace and human dignity around the world. In his final public address, held this Easter Sunday at the Vatican, he used these words:

“What a great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts of our world ... I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves”.

Pope Francis was a man who was always on the side of the poor and the migrant. He was always on the side of those who faced injustice. He had a thirst to use the power of Christian teaching to advocate for those who required a message of justice and the protection of the message of justice. He regularly called for an end to bigotry and conflict.

Above all, Pope Francis worked to bring people together across what often seemed like insurmountable divides. His Holiness was particularly outspoken about the trauma experienced recently by the people of Ukraine and Gaza, while equally condemning the growing climate of antisemitism throughout the world. In 2014, at a prayer meeting held at the Vatican, Pope Francis urged the then President of Israel, Shimon Peres, and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas to be courageous in the pursuit of peace in the middle east.

Despite the weight of his office, and often when he was in poor health, the Pope built friendships and connections to try to bring people together. In recent years, his faithfulness in keeping in contact with Christians in Gaza has illustrated the devotion of his leadership to all congregations, especially those who were suffering.

I express my own gratitude for Pope Francis’s lifetime of faithful devotion and dedicated public service. He was always on the side of the poor and those who faced injustice, and he used his position of leadership to work for a better world. That leadership has been a powerful example to me and to millions around the globe. We are profoundly grateful for his life and his example of principled spiritual leadership in our world today.

In drawing my remarks to a close, I wish to conclude with some words from Pope Francis’s final address on Sunday:

“There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others ... The light of Easter impels us to break down the barriers that create division and are fraught with grave political and economic consequences. It impels us to care for one another, to increase our mutual solidarity, and to work for the integral development of each human person.”

There could be no finer words to have left the world with, given the challenges and the difficulties that we face as a society today, than the words that Pope Francis left us with on Easter Sunday. They are a mark of the power of his spiritual leadership, and his is an example that we would be well advised to follow.

I move,

That the Parliament expresses its deep sadness at the death of Pope Francis; conveys its condolences to all those in the Roman Catholic community in Scotland and beyond; affirms the affection in which His Holiness was held by people across the world, and expresses gratitude for his lifetime of devotion and dedicated public service.