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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 16 August 2025
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Displaying 1653 contributions

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Economy and Fair Work Committee

Just Transition

Meeting date: 7 December 2022

Maggie Chapman

I appreciate that.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Scottish Human Rights Commission

Meeting date: 6 December 2022

Maggie Chapman

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us.

Ian Duddy, I follow on from Pam Duncan-Glancy’s line of questioning on staffing. How is the commission, at the moment? We have been through Covid and its impact—some of which we have talked about—and, as you outlined in your opening remarks, there has been a significant amount of organisational change, about which I have a few questions. I am interested in how the staff in your team are feeling.

I should declare that, as a member of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, I will be scrutinising the budget bid that you have put in for next year.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Scottish Human Rights Commission

Meeting date: 6 December 2022

Maggie Chapman

Thanks for your comments, Ian. In your initial response to Pam Gosal’s question, you said that you stand by the evidence that you gave in June. During the same meeting, we also heard from the UN independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz. In his evidence, he was quite clear that, in the work that he has undertaken, the so-called competition of rights has come up before. He said that he has found no evidence to support that there is

“any systemic identifiable pattern of risk in ... the situation that is created by ... self-identification.”—[Official Report, Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, 21 June 2022, c27-28]

Does the SHRC agree with that view of the situation, and, from your understanding of other countries where legal recognition by self-identification works, have you heard any evidence to suggest that there can be conflict, as the letter by Reem Alsalem suggested?

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Scottish Human Rights Commission

Meeting date: 6 December 2022

Maggie Chapman

The Scottish Human Rights Commission is not the only commission that is talking about sharing services such as payroll and back-office functions.

Jim Farish, in your newish role, how do you find the balance between the strategic work that you and your fellow commissioners are asked to do and the operational side, which Ian Duddy heads up? Notwithstanding the requests for additional staff that Ian has outlined, have we got the balance right between strategy and operations?

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Scottish Human Rights Commission

Meeting date: 6 December 2022

Maggie Chapman

That is helpful. I will ask one more question, if I may. There have been discussions about having commissioners for other bits of rights. How do you view the SHRC’s role as an overarching body? How do you see that role developing?

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Scottish Human Rights Commission

Meeting date: 6 December 2022

Maggie Chapman

I will leave it there.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Scottish Human Rights Commission

Meeting date: 6 December 2022

Maggie Chapman

That is helpful. Ian Duddy, you talked about the shift from 12.5 to 14.5 members of staff, which you described as “steady state”. Given what is coming at us all with the human rights bill, incorporation and the distinct legal and constitutional challenges around that, never mind just the human rights bit, when you say “steady state”, how much additional resource do you anticipate needing? I know that you will have started some of those conversations with staff who support you in the Parliament, but where are those conversations going?

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Scottish Human Rights Commission

Meeting date: 6 December 2022

Maggie Chapman

Thank you very much for that clarity.

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Just Transition Commission

Meeting date: 23 November 2022

Maggie Chapman

My last question for now is about the conversations that you have had in the commission, but also more broadly with the Scottish Government and other stakeholders. Are there any policies or proposals that are potentially red herrings, given the time pressures and what we know are going to be financially constrained times? Are there things that we may need to move away from doing because we know that we can get better impacts and outcomes from focusing on other things?

Economy and Fair Work Committee

Just Transition Commission

Meeting date: 23 November 2022

Maggie Chapman

I have a final brief question. Jim Skea has spoken quite a lot about social infrastructure, and I am mindful of the task relating to having meaningful engagement with those who are most likely to be affected by the just transition, so that they have the opportunity to shape it. Is there a role for the committee in doing something that the commission has not done or is not planning to do in that regard, or vice versa? There is a need for engagement, particularly with people who are not the usual suspects—those who will be affected directly but who might not have an industry voice or be able to input into the structures that we have.