Annual Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee for 2025-26

PDF Published: Friday 20 Mar 2026 (EHRCJS062026R05)

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Overview
Report

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Overview
Report
- Introduction
  - Membership changes
- Meetings
- Legislation
  - Bills
    
    Disability Commissioner (Scotland) Bill
    
    Commissioner for Older People (Scotland) Bill
    
    Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill
  - Subordinate legislation
  - Legislative Consent Memorandums
    
    Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
- Inquiries
  - Operation of the Public Sector Equality Duty
  - Civil Legal Assistance
  - British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015
  - Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2026-2027
  - Human rights, equalities and access to services in rural areas of Scotland
  - Neurodivergence in Scotland
  - International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
  - Non-Implementation of Acts
- Equalities, engagement and innovation
Sources

Image: Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee engagement

Image: Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee statistics

Image: Civil Legal Assistance evidence session

Image: British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 evidence session

Image: Neurodivergence in Scotland evidence session

Scottish Parliament. (2025, June 24). Minutes of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee/meetings/2025/equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee-24-june-2025/minutes

Scottish Parliament. (2025, June 17). Minutes of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee/meetings/2025/equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee-17-june-2025/minutes

Scottish Parliament. (2025, September 30). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-30-09-2025?meeting=16612

Scottish Parliament. (2025, October 7). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-07-10-2025?meeting=16627

Scottish Parliament. (2025, October 28). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-28-10-2025?meeting=16640

Scottish Parliament. (2025, November 19). Stage 1 report on the Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill. Retrieved from https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/Committees/Report/EHRCJ/2025/11/19/8b21719d-e5fe-4428-be24-854910bbca1a#Introduction

Scottish Government. (2025, November 24). Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to the Convener of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee/correspondence/2025/children-withdrawal-from-religious-education-24-november-2025

Scottish Parliament. (2025, November 25). Official Report of the Meeting of the Parliament. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-25-11-2025?meeting=16701&iob=142638

Scottish Parliament. (2025, December 16). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-16-12-2025?meeting=16765

Scottish Parliament. (2026, February 17). Official Report of the Meeting of the Parliament. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-17-02-2026?meeting=20074&iob=205676

COSLA. (2025, May 30). Submission to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee from COSLA, 28 May 2025. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee/correspondence/2025/border-security-asylum-and-immigration-bill-lcm-cosla-28-may-2025

Police Scotland. (2025, May 30). Submission to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee from Police Scotland, 27 May 2025. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee/correspondence/2025/border-security-asylum-and-immigration-bill-lcm-police-scotland-27-may-2025

Scottish Refugee Council. (2025, May 30). Submission to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee from the Scottish Refugee Council, 27 May 2025. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee/correspondence/2025/border-security-asylum-and-immigration-bill-lcm-src-27-may-2025

Scottish Parliament. (2025, June 18). Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee report on the Legislative Consent Memorandum (LCM) on the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. Retrieved from https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/Committees/Report/EHRCJ/2025/6/18/22811fda-f723-471e-8f4a-2ac47b1e2856#Introduction

UK Supreme Court. (2025, April 16). Judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd (Appellant) v The Scottish Ministers (Respondent). Retrieved from https://supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2024-0042

Scottish Parliament. (2026). Official report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/pa-13-01-2026?meeting=20014

Scottish Parliament. (2025). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-13-05-2025?meeting=16429

Scottish Parliament. (2025, May 27). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-27-05-2025?meeting=16463

Scottish Parliament. (2026, January 6). Official Report of the Meeting of the Parliament. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-06-01-2026?meeting=16772&iob=143248

Scottish Parliament. (2026, February 24). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-24-02-2026?meeting=20098

Scottish Parliament. (2026, February 24). Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee: Report on the Legal Aid and Advice and Assistance (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2026 [draft]. Retrieved from https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/Committees/Report/EHRCJ/2026/2/24/7cfe50b5-0567-48e2-9f0c-bfd4386a55b0#Introduction

Scottish Parliament. (2025, February 4). Meeting of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee/meetings/2025/equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee-04-february-2025/minutes

Scottish Parliament. (2025, June 3). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-03-06-2025?meeting=16483

Scottish Parliament. (2025, June 17). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-17-06-2025?meeting=16512

Scottish Parliament. (2025, December 9). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-09-12-2025?meeting=16756

Scottish Parliament. (2025, December 11). Official Report of the Meeting of the Parliament. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-11-12-2025?meeting=16744&iob=143050

Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh. (2025). Sign Loud: Perspectives of Deaf mothers and signing practitioners on domestic abuse, communication issues and the impact on Deaf families. Retrieved from https://signs.hw.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/Sign-LOUD-Exec-summary-pdf-final.pdf

Scottish Parliament. (2026, March 3). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-03-03-2026?meeting=20118

Scottish Parliament. (2026, March 5). Letter to the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee/correspondence/2026/british-sign-language-sign-loud-report-5-march-2026

Scottish Parliament. (2025, September 9). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-09-09-2025?meeting=16567

Scottish Parliament. (2026, February 3). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-03-02-2026?meeting=20058

Scottish Parliament. (2025, May 13). Minutes of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee/meetings/2025/equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee-13-may-2025/minutes

Scottish Human Rights Commission. (2024, November). Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Highlands and Islands. Retrieved from https://www.scottishhumanrights.com/media/2884/main-report_economic-social-and-cultural-rights-in-the-highlands-and-islands.pdf

Scottish Parliament. (2025, November 18). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-18-11-2025?meeting=16702

Scottish Parliament. (2025, November 25). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-25-11-2025?meeting=16718

Scottish Parliament. (2026, January 20). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-20-01-2026?meeting=20023

Scottish Parliament. (2026, February 10). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-10-02-2026?meeting=20075

Scottish Parliament. (2026, February 17). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-17-02-2026?meeting=20094

United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. (2025, March 12). Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Retrieved from https://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=wKWjBOf%2Bx%2FbfjEF1BBCUigX10H8583EgeN%2BN2esr0dz9Sll00yLdOvdVByQx2hDxg6Vi%2BqHPQVTjuMyPDwSu1g%3D%3D

Scottish Government. (2025, November 28). Scottish Government high level action plan in response to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Retrieved from https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-high-level-action-plan-response-committee-economic-social-cultural-rights/

Scottish Parliament. (2025, June 24). Official Report of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/EHRCJ-24-06-2025?meeting=16533

Scottish Parliament. (2025, July 30). Letter to the Minister for Equalities and the Minister for Victims and Community Safety, Non-implementation of legislation. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee/correspondence/2025/non-implementation-of-legislation

Scottish Government. (2025, September 26). Letter from the Minister for Victims and Community Safety and the Minister for Equalities regarding first quarterly update. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee/correspondence/2025/non-implementation-of-legislation-26-september-2025

Scottish Parliament. (2026, February 26). Letter to the Minister for Equalities and the Minister for Victims and Community Safety. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee/correspondence/2026/non-implementation-of-legislation-26-february-2026

Scottish Parliament. (2025, June). Unattributed note of key points that arose in both discussions. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee/note-of-informal-bsl-discussions-june-2025.pdf

Scottish Parliament. (2025, November 10). Notes from engagement visit to Blairgowrie. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/equalities-human-rights-and-civil-justice-committee/correspondence/2025/human-rights-in-rural-scotland-10-november-2025.pdf

Last Updated: 19/3 1:29pm

Image: Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee engagement

Image: Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee statistics

Image: Civil Legal Assistance evidence session

Image: British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 evidence session

Image: British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 evidence session

Image: Neurodivergence in Scotland evidence session

Image: Neurodivergence in Scotland evidence session

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