Chamber and committees

There will be a division.

For

Duncan-Glancy, Pam (Glasgow) (Lab)
Gosal, Pam (West Scotland) (Con)
Stewart, Alexander (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)

Against

Adam, Karen (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP)
Chapman, Maggie (North East Scotland) (Green)
FitzPatrick, Joe (Dundee City West) (SNP)
MacGregor, Fulton (Coatbridge and Chryston) (SNP)

Good morning and welcome to the 11th meeting of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee in 2022. This is the first committee meeting in this session where we have people observing in person. They are very welcome.

I ask committee members and guests to ensure that all mobile phones and other devices are switched to silent for the duration of the meeting. We have received no apologies for the meeting.

Agenda item 1 is to agree whether to take item 4, on consideration of the evidence, and item 5, on consideration of correspondence from the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, in private. Are we agreed to take those items in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Thank you both very much. We will ask some more in-depth questions but, initially, will you both give us a practical outline of how we try to hear children’s voices and where it does not work?

Does the F9 form need to be replaced?

Lesley-Anne, could you also comment on the F9 form?

That concludes consideration of the Scottish statutory instrument.

I must ask members and witnesses for tighter contributions from now on, although we have received lots of useful information, which is extremely helpful to the committee.

Thank you. As you have said, we will cover some of those issues in more depth with questions from other committee members.

The next item is to take evidence on children’s participation in the courts’ decision-making process. I welcome to the meeting Sarah Axford, service manager, Children 1st; and Dr Lesley-Anne Barnes Macfarlane, senior lecturer in Scots private law, University of Glasgow, who is joining us remotely. I refer members to papers 2 and 3.

I invite our witnesses to make short opening statements if they wish. I will start with Sarah Axford.

We welcome to the meeting our second panel: Alistair Hogg, head of practice and policy, Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration; May Dunsmuir, chamber president, health and education chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland, additional support needs jurisdiction, who is joining us remotely; and Jordan Croan, advocacy and participation manager, Who Cares? Scotland.

I invite the witnesses to make a short opening statement if they so wish, starting with Alistair Hogg.