Public Petitions Committee,

Meeting date: Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Official Report 258KB pdf

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Equalities Report

Item 3 on the agenda is our equalities report. Do members have any general comments on the report before we consider the recommendations?

We had to get a baseline by which we could judge the progress that we make, and the paper is useful in that regard. It highlights some points that we thought were the case. We are probably not reaching out to the types of organisations to which we would like to reach out. That is why we are doing our tour of Scotland to promote the work of the committee. At least the paper gives us a clear indication of where we stand in relation to the responses that we have received so far in the equal opportunities monitoring forms. My general observation is that the paper provides a useful set of statistics that will allow us to move forward.

I agree. It is good to see the clerks' recommendations. I am particularly pleased about recommendation 11, which states:

"Consideration could also be given to producing a BSL version of the promotional video."

That kind of thinking is very welcome. Along with all the other suggestions in the paper, it is very good that Parliament staff, the committee and other committees are working hard to ensure that we try to address many of the issues that face people who might find it difficult to access our committees.

Are members happy with the paper and the recommendations?

I have one question. Recommendation 13 states:

"the Committee may wish to consider amending questions 1 and 5 … to allow a more accurate comparison with the census data."

How could we do that? What sort of changes might be made?

We would change the questions that we ask to bring them into line with the questions that are asked in the census.

So there are comparable questions in the census. That is fine.

Are members happy that we sign off the paper?

Members indicated agreement.

Meeting closed at 12:03.