Meeting of the Parliament 17 February 2026 [Draft]
I accept Mr Simpson’s question and I recognise some of his concern. There is dubiety on that point from some stakeholders, as I have set out, and I have also made the point that the term appears in the legislation—in the 1980 act—a total of 27 times, I think. There would be incoherence in amending the 1980 act at this stage, although I recognise some of the concerns that have been voiced to that end.
There is a great degree of complexity contained in the 1980 act, with the long-standing meaning attached to its terminology, which Mr Simpson rightly raises, but changes of this nature would require much more thorough consideration across the 1980 act to avoid unintended consequences.
For those reasons, I cannot support amendments 6 and 11.
Amendment 21, in the name of Elena Whitham, would require ministers to provide statutory guidance on the meaning of religious observance. I am very glad that we have worked with Ms Whitham on her amendment, which responds to concerns raised following stage 2 changes that separated religious observance and religious and moral education so that the parental right to withdraw would apply only to religious observance.
As members might know, and as we have heard from Mr O’Kane and other members this afternoon, there is a close relationship in denominational schools between religious education and religious observance. By providing a duty for ministers to issue guidance on the meaning of religious observance in schools, amendment 21 will ensure that clarity will be provided for schools, pupils and parents regarding where the right to withdraw continues to apply and where it does not.
Amendment 21 will require that ministers consider the importance of inclusiveness in the content and delivery of religious observance when preparing the statutory national guidance. That will support schools in ensuring that all pupils can participate in religious observance without contravening their personal beliefs. Recognising the particular context of religious observance in denominational schools, amendment 21 explicitly includes as mandatory consultees those who represent the interests of denominational schools, alongside education authorities and managers of grant-aided schools, to ensure that the guidance works for both denominational and non-denominational settings.
Amendment 21 will also require that the guidance be published within 12 months of the section being commenced, reflecting the importance of the guidance in providing clarity for schools, parents and pupils regarding the implementation of the changes. For all those reasons, I invite members to support amendment 21.
Maggie Chapman’s amendment 22 would require non-denominational schools to provide pupils and parents with details of the “format and content” of religious observance at least 14 days in advance—as we have heard from members today—alongside an assessment of whether religious observance activities are
“sufficiently objective, critical and pluralistic”.
Amendment 22A would apply those requirements to all public and grant-aided schools, instead of only non-denominational ones. Schools are already required by the school handbook regulations to provide information on the form and content of religious observance and on the arrangements for withdrawing a pupil. The introduction of a duty to provide an assessment of whether those activities are sufficiently objective, critical and pluralistic would place a significant administrative burden on schools, which I think is the point that Stephen Kerr made earlier.
We already expect schools to provide only activities that they believe to be sufficient in that regard, in line with the existing guidance. The new statutory guidance to accompany the implementation of the bill will highlight the expectation that religious observance is inclusive, as well as how that might look in practice. In developing the guidance, we will engage with schools and other interested parties to determine what further support might be appropriate to ensure that religious observance is consistently and sufficiently inclusive of those of all faiths and no faith.