Chamber and committees

Pam Duncan-Glancy, have you covered everything that you intended to?

I call Alexander Stewart.

Thank you. That concludes our questions. I thank Ellie Gomersall and Bruce Adamson for their evidence.

Thank you. We move on to questions, starting with Pam Gosal.

Thank you. Pam, do you have a final question?

Okay.

Thanks, everyone. That concludes the questions for this morning. I thank Hugh Torrance and Malcolm Dingwall-Smith. That concludes the public part of the meeting. We now move into private for the final item on our agenda.

Good morning, and welcome to the 15th meeting in 2022 of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. No apologies have been received. I welcome Tess White MSP to the meeting. I am aware that a number of other MSPs will be watching live on Scottish Parliament television or on catch-up.

At today’s meeting, the committee will continue to take evidence on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. The responses to the detailed call for views have now been published, as has a summary of the responses to the short survey. Notes about our private informal engagement sessions and the informal briefing session with the bill team will be published shortly. As agreed at our meeting on 15 March, the committee will hear from the cabinet secretary at the conclusion of our evidence taking.

With our first panel, we will focus on children and young people. In addition to this morning’s oral evidence, we have received written evidence from a number of other children’s and young people’s organisations, which can be found on our website.

I am pleased to welcome Bruce Adamson, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, who joins us virtually, and Ellie Gomersall, the president elect of NUS Scotland and president of the University of the West of Scotland Students Association. You are both very welcome. I refer members to papers 1, 2 and 3.

I invite our witnesses to make short opening statements.

Thank you very much. We will move on to questions from members.

Is it in the same area?