Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 20 January 2021
I very much recognise that. The point is that, although we recognise the value that people derive from attending places of worship, there could be nothing more tragic than a person attending a place of worship and ending up infected, ill or worse from a virus that was picked up on the way to or from, or at, a service there. We have made special provision to allow those who lead acts or worship to leave their houses and use places of worship to lead remote services, so that such services can continue.
We recognise that some members of faith communities are upset by the measures. Equally, as John Mason said, there are many who support them, including the Church of Scotland and the Scottish Episcopal Church. We engage in regular discussions with a range of faith groups about the measures, and we take all their views seriously.
We review all restrictions regularly, as we are required to by law at least once every three weeks. As part of the reviews, we take special account of rights and equalities considerations, including a person’s right to practise their religion. [Interruption.] I am sorry, but I am just finishing.
For those reasons, I invite the Parliament not to support Ms Ballantyne in opposing the motions.