Meeting of the Parliament 17 February 2026 [Draft]
I begin by thanking a number of people who have helped us get to this point today. As ever, the legislation team are unsung heroes, expertly drafting amendments, often at very short notice. Without their work, we would not be here. I also thank the clerking and Scottish Parliament information centre teams of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee for guiding us through stages 1 and 2.
The Parliament has been on a journey towards better recognising and protecting the rights of children and young people. In 2024, we enshrined the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots law. Before that, my Green colleague John Finnie ensured that all children are protected from physical assault.
We believe that UNCRC incorporation is the start, not the end, of ensuring that everything that we do upholds the rights of children and young people. Despite the convention’s incorporation, our age of criminal responsibility is still just 12, which is lower than the age of 16 as recommended by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and even lower than its supposed absolute minimum of 14.
The Education (Scotland) Act 1980 allows children to be withdrawn from religious activities in schools without their consent and without even asking for their views to be taken into account. That is clearly contrary to the convention, and I welcome the opportunity to correct that, but a major problem remains. As we have heard, the bill as now drafted allows a young person to opt back into those activities if they have been opted out of them, but not to opt out themselves. The Scottish Human Rights Commission, Together—the Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights, the Humanist Society Scotland and the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland are totally united in saying that the bill must include that extra provision.
I appreciate that the Scottish Government listened to those experts and supported my amendment to create a power to introduce an independent right to withdraw via regulations. However, because my amendment 7A was not accepted today, there remains no requirement to introduce or even consult on those regulations, and there is no timeline either. It is possible that that power could sit on the books for years and not be used. Many other powers have so languished. That would be completely unacceptable.
I am not an expert in children’s rights. With respect, neither is the cabinet secretary—nor is Stephen Kerr, and nor is Paul O’Kane. However, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner is, as are Professor Angela O’Hagan and the Scottish Human Rights Commission. Children in Scotland and the Children’s Parliament are experts, too, as are Kibble, Save the Children, UNICEF, the Scottish Child Law Centre and many more organisations besides.
Without exception, they are all saying that, without the independent right, to quote the Scottish Human Rights Commission,
“Part 1 in its current form does not achieve compliance with the UNCRC.”
Without such compliance, the Scottish Government runs the risk of legal challenge. Given the successful legal challenge that took place in Northern Ireland, the cabinet secretary will know that there are concerns that a challenge could also succeed here.
The cabinet secretary received a letter from Together and the Humanist Society Scotland saying that an independent right to withdraw
“is the only approach that is compatible with children’s human rights, and it is the only approach that will provide a clear, equitable, and legally resilient settlement.”
I will deal with part 2 of the bill in my closing speech. For now, I will end my opening speech by saying that we must listen to the experts. The Scottish Government must give a clear commitment today that it will consult on an independent right to withdraw should it be re-elected after May. The cabinet secretary still has time to make that commitment, and I urge her to do so later this evening.