Seòmar agus comataidhean

Welcome to the 21st meeting of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee in 2022. Our first agenda item is consideration of six negative instruments. I refer members to paper 1. Do members have comments on any of the instruments?

That concludes consideration of the Scottish statutory instruments. We will suspend briefly.

The next item agenda is to continue taking evidence on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. Before we start our formal evidence session, I put on the record our thanks to a number of groups who have engaged with us privately over the past week or so to give us their views on the bill. Anonymised notes of those sessions will be published in due course.

I welcome Shona Robison, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, and her officials from the Scottish Government: Peter Hope-Jones is head of the gender recognition unit and Colin Gilchrist is a solicitor.

I refer members to papers 2 and 3. I invite the cabinet secretary to make a short opening statement.

Yes, but it is probably worth flagging up to anyone who is watching that we have had a session with the EHRC, when a lot of those points were put to the EHRC. Folk can watch the recording of that session on Parliament TV and decide for themselves.

I call Pam Duncan-Glancy.

We now go to Maggie Chapman.

It is probably worth saying that some of the witnesses from whom we took evidence used the word “transition” in relation to social or medical transition rather than in relation to using GRC processes.

As members have no further questions, I thank the cabinet secretary, Peter and Colin for attending the meeting. That brings the public part of our meeting to a close.

I think that Pam Duncan-Glancy was looking to come in on this area.

Before we go back to Pam Gosal, we will go to Karen Adam.

Thank you very much, Regina. We could go on for the rest of the afternoon, but I know that your diary is pressing, and we have to get back to the chamber. A huge thank you to you for giving us your time.

That concludes the public part of our meeting.