Meeting of the Parliament 11 June 2026 [Last updated 19:16]
I hate to disappoint Ivan McKee, but his speech was not the last speech before the world cup. I will also undoubtedly disappoint other members given that we are looking to get out, but I will not take too long.
Members will be aware that standing orders require the Parliamentary Bureau, when establishing committees, to normally ensure that the proposed membership reflects the gender balance of the Parliament. Where that is not the case, any member of the bureau is required, when moving the motion on committee membership, to explain the reasons why that has not been achieved.
Alongside ensuring gender balance when identifying committee members, parties must take several other important factors into account. Those include the preferences and interests of individual members and whether members have other parliamentary commitments that might conflict with their committee duties.
In achieving a degree of gender balance, we are also reliant on the overall balance of members who are elected to the Parliament at the start of the session. The overall balance between the number of men and women in the Parliament is not the same as the balance in some of the individual parties that are represented here.
Taking account of all those factors, there have been significant challenges in achieving gender balance at the individual committee level. However, I inform members that memberships across all 16 committees are strongly reflective of the gender balance across the Parliament as a whole. The bureau is therefore satisfied that we can progress on that basis.
I move,
That the Parliament agrees the membership of committees of the Parliament as follows—
Climate Action Committee
Membership: Stuart McMillan, Ariane Burgess, David Barrett, Martyn Day, Claire Baker, Sanna Dijkstra-Downie, Douglas Lumsden.
Criminal Justice Committee
Membership: Alyn Smith, David Linden, Marie McNair, Maggie Chapman, Pauline McNeill, Amanda Bland, Stephen Kerr.
Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee
Membership: Calum Kerr, Q Manivannan, Colm Merrick, Amanda Lindsay, Paul Sweeney.
Economy, Tourism and Energy Committee
Membership: Duncan Massey, Daniel Johnson, Kate Campbell, Gary Bouse, Martyn Day, Kristopher Leask, Rachael Hamilton.
Education and Gaelic Committee
Membership: Karen Adam, Katherine Sangster, George Adam, Patricia Gibson, Duncan Dunlop, Angela Ross, Laura Moodie.
Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee
Membership: Katie Hagmann, Meghan Gallacher, Collette Stevenson, Fulton MacGregor, Holly Bruce, Amanda Lindsay, Carol Mochan.
Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Membership: Patrick Harvie, Senga Beresford, Colin Beattie, Keith Brown, Pauline Stafford, Jenny Young, David Green.
Finance and Public Administration Committee
Membership: Clare Haughey, Alan Brown, Pauline Stafford, Michael Marra, Kim Schmulian, Liam Kerr, Liam McArthur.
Health, Care and Sport Committee
Membership: Helen McDade, Jack Middleton, Paul McLennan, Heather Anderson, Joe Long, Adam Harley, Kayleigh Kinross-O’Neill.
Public Audit Committee
Membership: Neil Bibby, Dawn Black, Alan Brown, Miles Briggs, David Kirkwood.
Public Petitions Committee
Membership: Paul Sweeney, David Torrance, Marie McNair, Julie MacDougall, Cara McKee.
Public Service Reform Committee
Membership: Bob Doris, Michelle Campbell, Alex Kerr, Max Bannerman, Lorna Slater, Joe Fagan, Murdo Fraser.
Rural Affairs Committee
Membership: Mark Ruskell, Andrew Baxter, Laura Mitchell, Emma Roddick, Dawn Black, Jamie Langan, Finlay Carson.
Social Justice, Housing and Local Government Committee
Membership: Craig Hoy, Thomas Kerr, Steven Bonnar, Kate Campbell, Gary Bouse, Mark Griffin, Morven-May MacCallum.
Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee
Membership: Jenni Minto, Tim Eagle, David Linden, Mark Simpson, Jackie Baillie.
Transport Committee
Membership: Willie Rennie, Lloyd Melville, Zen Ghani, Collette Stevenson, Iris Duane, Donald MacKinnon, Graham Simpson.