Chamber and committees

That the Parliament agrees the membership of committees of the Parliament as follows—

Climate Action Committee

Membership: Stuart McMillan, Ariane Burgess, David Barratt, Martyn Day, Claire Baker, Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, Douglas Lumsden.

Criminal Justice Committee

Membership: Alyn Smith, David Linden, Marie McNair, Maggie Chapman, Pauline McNeill, Amanda Bland, Stephen Kerr.

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Membership: Calum Kerr, Q Manivannan, Colm Merrick, Amanda Lindsay, Paul Sweeney.

Economy, Tourism and Energy Committee

Membership: Duncan Massey, Daniel Johnson, Kate Campbell, Gary Bouse, Martyn Day, Kristopher Leask, Rachael Hamilton.

Education and Gaelic Committee

Membership: Karen Adam, Katherine Sangster, George Adam, Patricia Gibson, Duncan Dunlop, Angela Ross, Laura Moodie.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Membership: Katie Hagmann, Meghan Gallacher, Collette Stevenson, Fulton MacGregor, Holly Bruce, Amanda Lindsay, Carol Mochan.

Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee

Membership: Patrick Harvie, Senga Beresford, Colin Beattie, Keith Brown, Pauline Stafford, Jenny Young, David Green.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Membership: Clare Haughey, Alan Brown, Pauline Stafford, Michael Marra, Kim Schmulian, Liam Kerr, Liam McArthur.

Health, Care and Sport Committee

Membership: Helen McDade, Jack Middleton, Paul McLennan, Heather Anderson, Joe Long, Adam Harley, Kayleigh Kinross-O’Neill.

Public Audit Committee

Membership: Neil Bibby, Dawn Black, Alan Brown, Miles Briggs, David Kirkwood.

Public Petitions Committee

Membership: Paul Sweeney, David Torrance, Marie McNair, Julie MacDougall, Cara McKee.

Public Service Reform Committee

Membership: Bob Doris, Michelle Campbell, Alex Kerr, Max Bannerman, Lorna Slater, Joe Fagan, Murdo Fraser.

Rural Affairs Committee

Membership: Mark Ruskell, Andrew Baxter, Laura Mitchell, Emma Roddick, Dawn Black, Jamie Langan, Finlay Carson.

Social Justice, Housing and Local Government Committee

Membership: Craig Hoy, Thomas Kerr, Steven Bonnar, Kate Campbell, Gary Bouse, Mark Griffin, Morven-May MacCallum.

Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee

Membership: Jenni Minto, Tim Eagle, David Linden, Mark Simpson, Jackie Baillie.

Transport Committee

Membership: Willie Rennie, Lloyd Melville, Zen Ghani, Collette Stevenson, Iris Duane, Donald MacKinnon, Graham Simpson.

That the Parliament recognises Action Mesothelioma Day 2026, which will be marked on 3 July; understands that this is a national event held each year to raise awareness of mesothelioma and asbestos; notes that mesothelioma is a rare but aggressive form of cancer that is usually caused by exposure to asbestos, with tiny fibres getting into the lungs and damaging them over time; understands that over 2,700 people in the UK are diagnosed with the condition each year, including around 200 in Scotland; notes that the cancer most commonly occurs in the lining of the lung, but can also be found in the lining of both the abdomen and the heart, with symptoms including shortness of breath, chest pain, coughing and tiredness; recognises the importance of grassroots activism to seek justice for victims, including the campaign, Cape Must Pay!, which calls for the former asbestos manufacturer Cape plc, which is now owned by Altrad, to donate £10 million to mesothelioma research; acknowledges with concern what it sees as the time bar injustice for mesothelioma victims and welcomes the Scottish Law Commission report, Report on Damages for Personal Injury; notes the calls for action to be taken to implement the report's findings; welcomes the events taking place across the country and encourages everyone to "Go Blue for Meso" by joining or organising a Blue Light Walk to raise awareness or fundraise; applauds the longstanding and ongoing work of the Clydebank Asbestos Group, which has provided information and support to people with asbestos-related conditions for over 30 years, and hopes for a successful Action Mesothelioma Day 2026.

That the Parliament congratulates South Lanarkshire College (SLC) on being named the best performing large college in Scotland for full-time further education; notes that 2024-25 data by the Scottish Funding Council confirms that it had the highest student achievement rates for the third consecutive year; recognises that SLC maintained or improved achievement rates across all study modes, while recording the lowest non-completion rate for full-time further education students across Scotland's large colleges; commends the outstanding hard work of both staff and students; celebrates these milestones alongside SLC’s first full year as a fully independent regional college following its successful de-regionalisation in July 2025, and wishes all college staff and students continued success in serving East Kilbride and the surrounding area.

That the Parliament welcomes the announced opening of a new GP walk-in centre in Aberdeen Central; understands that the centre will open on 23 June 2026 within the Aberdeen Health Village on Frederick Street, providing residents with the opportunity to be seen by a healthcare professional without an appointment and receive same day care and treatment for minor illnesses; notes that the service will be open seven days a week from 12pm to 8pm with no appointment necessary; acknowledges that the Aberdeen centre will be the seventh of a planned 30 GP walk-in centres to be opened across Scotland, representing £36 million in investment into a new system that, it believes, will fundamentally reshape the day-to-day running of the NHS and GP services; hails the ambition of the GP walk-in services in addressing the 8am rush faced by people in Scotland, and hopes that residents will make full use of the new Aberdeen GP walk-in centre.

That the Parliament congratulates the Highland Chocolatier on being awarded a prestigious five star rating by the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions, which is the national benchmark for visitor experience excellence; recognises that this family-run business, based beside the river Tay, has spent over 20 years building a world class brand, receiving over 90 national and international awards, including recognition as the Best Food and Drink Attraction in Scotland; warmly congratulates the entire team at the Highland Chocolatier on this well-earned national recognition, and wishes them continued success in sharing the very best of Scottish artisan chocolate with visitors from across Scotland and beyond.

That the Parliament congratulates the Irvine Burns Club on the occasion of its 200th anniversary; notes that the club was founded on 2 June 1826 in the Milne’s Inn in Irvine by a group of 12 local men, including several who were personal friends of Burns; understands that it is one of the oldest continuously active Burns clubs in the world; recognises Irvine’s important place in the life of Scotland’s national bard, who lived and worked in the town between 1781 and 1782, where he developed friendships that encouraged him to pursue his poetry, including his relationship with sea captain Richard Brown, who is credited by Burns as being the person who "encouraged me to endeavour at the character of a Poet"; acknowledges the club’s two centuries of dedication to preserving and promoting the life, works and legacy of Robert Burns, including through its stewardship of the Wellwood Burns Centre and Museum and its significant collection of manuscripts and artefacts, including the 1786 Kilmarnock edition of Poems chiefly in the Scottish dialect and the 1787 Edinburgh edition; commends its ongoing work in supporting education, community engagement and cultural events, inspiring appreciation of Burns among younger generations and visitors; recognises its role in Ayrshire's, national and international Burns networks, including participation in the Robert Burns World Federation, and wishes the Irvine Burns Club every success as it celebrates this remarkable bicentenary and continues its important work for many years to come.

That the Parliament welcomes the fourth annual Saroj Lal Awards for City of Edinburgh schools on 11 June 2026 at The Hub in Edinburgh; notes that the awards were established in 2022 and that this year’s event focuses on equality and diversity and the embracing of all protected characteristics; understands that they were founded in memory of Saroj Lal, one of the earliest women from minority ethnic backgrounds to teach in an Edinburgh primary school, having begun her role at South Morningside Primary in August 1970; notes that her contributions to Scotland and the capital included being at the forefront of race relations from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, working with Lothian and Borders Police to improve the handling of racism and racial attacks and leaving a lasting legacy for women and minority and marginalised communities; recognises the contribution of Saroj Lal and her husband, Amrit Lal, in founding the Hindu Mandir on St Andrew Place in Leith as a temple, cultural centre and focal point for the Hindu community; congratulates all nominees, including pupils and staff, on their awards, and thanks the Lal family for their continued efforts to commemorate an important and inspirational figure in Edinburgh’s recent history.

That the Parliament welcomes the recent news that local charity, Befriend a Child, has raised £34,842 at its recent Emerald City Ball; notes that the ball was held on 29 May 2026 in Aberdeen's Chester Hotel; commends the work done by numerous volunteers, staff members and sponsors, who ensured that the event was a resounding success; celebrates the fact that the funds raised will be going directly towards supporting children, young people and families; understands that Befriend a Child aims to build young people's confidence through a variety of programmes, including its mentorship scheme, which sees children paired with volunteers who can offer opportunities and experiences that they would not normally be afforded in their everyday lives; congratulates Befriend a Child on the work that it has already done in supporting young people around Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire since its founding in 1975, including the work it currently does with the approximately 250 children that are supported through its befriending and mentoring programmes, and wishes Befriend a Child all the best in future.

That the Parliament affirms that every person in Scotland deserves to live, work and learn free from discrimination based on their descent and stands in solidarity with Dalit, Other Backward Class (OBC), Adivasi and caste-oppressed communities in Scotland that, it believes, continue to face the harm of casteism in their daily lives; recognises that the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination affirms that caste discrimination is a form of racial discrimination and a form of descent-based discrimination, placing clear obligations on the UK Government under international human rights law, and that the Scottish Government has both a legal and moral duty to honour those obligations; celebrates the profound intellectual, cultural and civic contributions that Dalit, OBC, Bahujan and caste-oppressed communities have made to Scotland, and to the world; honours the legacy of anti-caste thinkers and movements, including Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule and Ayyankali, whose struggles for dignity, equality and rational social order, it believes, resonate deeply with Scotland’s own traditions of democratic radicalism and social justice; believes that this rich tradition of anti-caste thought, resistance and scholarship deserves a recognised and celebrated place in Scotland’s educational and cultural life and that fostering awareness of it would enrich our schools, universities and public institutions; notes that caste is a system of hereditary social stratification rooted in descent, which has operated across South Asia for millennia and has been carried from there into diaspora communities across the world, including communities in Scotland; understands that caste discrimination exists in various forms within diaspora communities from South Asia and manifests as exclusion and social segregation in the workplace, in the provision of services, in housing and in education, leading to harassment, bullying and harm against Dalit, OBC, Adivasi or caste-oppressed people or groups; recognises that a 2016 survey by the Anti-Caste Discrimination Alliance found that 58% of respondents from South Asian backgrounds were aware of caste discrimination in the UK and that Dalit students face bullying and exclusion in schools, with caste-oppressed individuals also encountering significant barriers in hiring and career advancement; notes that section 9 of the Equality Act 2010, as amended, currently requires the UK Government to introduce secondary legislation to make caste an aspect of race, thereby making caste discrimination a form of race discrimination, yet this secondary legislation has not been brought forward, which, it believes, is leaving affected communities in Scotland reliant on uncertain and evolving case law rather than the clear, explicit protection that they deserve; believes that the current legal ambiguity reinforces the perception that caste issues cannot be resolved in courts and discourages people from bringing cases forward, due to financial costs and fears of reprisals within diaspora communities, and that explicitly naming caste in equality law would provide greater confidence that caste-based discrimination would be taken seriously; further believes that Scotland’s public institutions, including schools, colleges, universities, NHS boards, local authorities and public employers, have insufficient awareness of casteism and of their existing duties under the Equality Act 2010 to prevent it and that closing this knowledge gap is both a matter of legal compliance and a mark of respect for affected communities; agrees that tackling casteism is not only a matter of preventing harm, but of actively building a Scotland in which the cultures, histories and intellectual traditions of all its communities are known, valued and celebrated; calls on the Scottish Government to, work with Education Scotland to develop guidance and curricular resources to ensure that students and educators understand casteism and the inspiring history of anti-caste movements, provide clear guidance to public bodies on caste discrimination as a dimension of their existing equality duties, and urge the UK Government to exercise the power under section 9 of the Equality Act 2010 to make caste an explicit and named aspect of the protected characteristic of race and ensure that Dalit, OBC, Adivasi and caste-oppressed communities in Scotland are meaningfully and respectfully consulted on the design of any policies and educational materials that affect them.

That the Parliament welcomes the announcement that the National Heritage Memorial Fund has awarded £585,525 to support RSPB Scotland in the acquisition of Bass Rock and Craigleith from the Dalrymple family; further welcomes the award of £372,036 of development funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to support conservation and improved public access, representing a first step toward potential further delivery funding; recognises the international importance of Bass Rock and Craigleith for seabird populations and marine ecosystems, as well as their status as iconic Scottish landmarks; acknowledges the significant role that these investments will play in protecting and enhancing Scotland’s natural heritage for future generations, and commends all partners involved in bringing forward this important initiative.