Seòmar agus comataidhean

We will go online now, to Oonagh Brown.

We again go online, to Callum Chomczuk.

Brilliant. Thank you very much, and thank you all for your written responses to our call for evidence, which anyone can access via the Scottish Parliament’s website.

We will now open up the meeting for discussion. The aim is not to have a formal question and answer type session; it is more of a wider discussion. Maggie Chapman will kick that off.

I say to the witnesses that committee members will direct questions to particular people, but if you have something to add, please indicate that in the chat box, as Callum Chomczuk did, if you are online, or directly to me. I will keep looking round.

Brilliant—thank you. Allan Faulds wants to come in.

Sara Cowan would like to come in.

What would a citizens budget look like? Are there any examples of such an approach being used? I do not necessarily mean at a national Government level.

Welcome to the 26th meeting in 2022 of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. We have received no apologies.

The first item on our agenda is to take evidence from stakeholders as part of our pre-budget scrutiny. I refer members to papers 2 and 3. I welcome to the meeting Susan McKellar, manager of the Scottish Women’s Convention; Clare Gallagher, human rights officer at the Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Sector Organisations Scotland; Jillian Matthew, senior manager for performance audit and best value with Audit Scotland; Sara Cowan, co-ordinator for the Scottish Women’s Budget Group; Allan Faulds, policy and information officer with the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland, which is known as the ALLIANCE; Oonagh Brown, human rights programme lead at the Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities, who is joining us online; and Callum Chomczuk, national director of the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland, who is also joining us virtually.

You are all very welcome. We will start by inviting witnesses to make short opening statements in turn. There are a lot of witnesses, so could we keep the statements reasonably brief, please?

If members have no other comments, are members agreed that we should write to the Government in the terms that Maggie Chapman has suggested? I see that Fulton MacGregor and Pam Gosal, who are joining us online, are smiling and have their thumbs up.

No other member has indicated that they wish to comment. Are members therefore content for the committee not to make any comments to the Parliament on the instrument, being mindful that we will write the letter that we have discussed? I see that members are content.

That concludes consideration of the instrument. We will now move into private session for the final item on our agenda.

Welcome to the 25th meeting in 2022 of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. We have received no apologies for the meeting.

Our first agenda item is consideration of a negative Scottish statutory instrument. I refer members to paper 1. Do members have any comments on the instrument?