Minutes: 04 February 2025

1. Work programme (In Private):

The Committee considered its work programme and agreed to:

• write to the Scottish Government seeking clarity on its legislative intentions for the remainder of the session insofar as this Committee’s remit is concerned, with specific reference to any plans for a Misogyny bill or further work on conversion practices;
• seek written evidence to inform its inquiry into the Scottish-specific Public Sector Equality Duty;
• undertake an inquiry into legal aid reform;
• hold a joint Chamber debate with the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee on the Aarhus Convention;
• undertake an inquiry into the Scottish Government’s BSL plan; 
• hold an evidence session on the Human Rights Consortium Scotland’s Report to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
• write to the Scottish Government seeking information on its plans for consulting on the School Premises Regulations;
• invite the Minister for Parliamentary Business to give evidence to the Committee on the non-implementation of the following Acts:
  • Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Act 2020
  • The Children (Scotland) Act 2020
  • Domestic Abuse Protection (Scotland) Act 2021;
• write to the Minister for Parliamentary Business on the non-implementation of these Acts prior to that session;
• write to the Scottish Government for an update on what progress it has made in relation to HIV treatment and awareness since the Committee last considered this issue; 
• write to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service for an update on its progress in developing hearing suites;
• write to the Scottish Government seeking an update on the progress of the research that it has commissioned on the experience of Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland during the so-called Tinker Experiment; 
• write to the Scottish Government seeking an update on the recommendations made in the Committee’s report on asylum seekers; 
• write to the Scottish Government for an update on progress made on issues raised by Petition PE1787 on the use of Makaton sign language in the legal system;
• write to the Scottish Government and COSLA for an update on how they are responding to the Committee’s recommendations in relation to their joint Suicide Prevention Strategy and Action Plan.