Elena Whitham
Scottish National Party · Scotland
“More homes Scotland will help to drive forward the Government’s core priorities of eradicating child poverty and growing our economy. To do that, we must focus on building more social homes and maximising investment in Scotland’s housing sector generally. We have a very strong record in Scotland in that regard.”
“Elena Whitham: I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests—I am a member of Shelter Scotland’s committee. Given that far too many children live in temporary accommodation, more homes Scotland must be integral to ending homelessness, and its creation is most welcome.”
“To ask the Scottish Government whether addressing affordable housing need and tackling homelessness will be more homes Scotland’s core mission. (S6O- 05714) The Cabinet Secretary for Housing (Màiri McAllan): Increasing the supply of affordable homes is key to addressing housing need and critical to tackling homelessness.”
“I thank my colleague Brian Whittle for securing this excellent debate. I rise to speak about sport being a force for good with a mixture of pride, gratitude and a sense of coming full circle.”
“It has a proud history, a trophy-winning junior team that inspires huge local pride and a vocal but good- natured rivalry with its next-door neighbour, Auchinleck Talbot Football Club.”
“It means recognising that participation looks different at different stages of life, whether that is walking football, which is delivered in partnership with Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland and supports people to stay active and connected, or inclusive cycling opportunities for those with learning disabilities, which is developed alongside…”
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“More homes Scotland will help to drive forward the Government’s core priorities of eradicating child poverty and growing our economy. To do that, we must focus on building more social homes and maximising investment in Scotland’s housing sector generally. We have a very strong record in Scotland in that regard. Since 2007, the Government has delivered 141,000 affordable homes, 101,000 of which have the most affordable social rent. That leaves us with 69 per cent more affordable homes, per head of population, than there are in Wales and 45 per cent more affordable homes, per head of population, than there are in England. However, we are crystal clear that the number of such homes needs to grow, and the agency will help us in that regard. Heating Oil Prices (Low-income Rural and Off- grid Households) 7.”
“Elena Whitham: I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests—I am a member of Shelter Scotland’s committee. Given that far too many children live in temporary accommodation, more homes Scotland must be integral to ending homelessness, and its creation is most welcome. To succeed, it must move quickly, which requires proper funding and a singular clarity of focus. Some voices call for the agency’s focus to be on increasing the supply in all housing tenures, but does the cabinet secretary agree that delivering more private homes does not necessarily reduce homelessness, and that the measure of the agency’s success must be more social homes being built and homelessness being reduced? Màiri McAllan: One of the main drivers—if not the main driver—of homelessness is poverty.”
“To ask the Scottish Government whether addressing affordable housing need and tackling homelessness will be more homes Scotland’s core mission. (S6O- 05714) The Cabinet Secretary for Housing (Màiri McAllan): Increasing the supply of affordable homes is key to addressing housing need and critical to tackling homelessness. I am pleased to confirm that more homes Scotland will have a key focus on bringing speed, simplicity and scale to the delivery of more homes, including affordable homes, as quickly as possible. The agency will help to advance key Government priorities, including our child poverty ambitions, by ensuring that more children, families and individuals have the foundational opportunity in life of a safe, warm and affordable home.”
“As an undiagnosed ADHDer who participated in every sport going—especially the thrill-seeking ones such as diving, rugby, track and field, mountain biking, ringette and skateboarding—it helped to focus my really busy mind via activity and dopamine. Believe me, Presiding Officer, I had knocked-out teeth, broken bones and the scars to prove it. As I prepare to step away from this Parliament, I am incredibly proud of the communities that I have had the privilege to represent, and I am also deeply hopeful, because of what I have seen in places such as Townhead park. Sport can change lives; in Cumnock, it already is. 10:30”
“It is not just about health outcomes, although those matter a lot, and it is not just about the economic impact, although that matters, too; it is about dignity, inclusion and creating spaces in which people feel that they belong. If we are truly serious about tackling inequality, improving public health and strengthening our communities, we must recognise, support and invest in models like that. The lessons from Cumnock are clear: when sport is rooted in community, led with compassion and open to all, it becomes one of the most powerful tools that we have for social change. I understand that only too well—and I wish that wee me had, too.”
“The programme recognises that, for many, the first step towards work is not a CV workshop, but having a sense of confidence, routine and support that are built through sport and wellbeing activity. The programme connects participation with opportunity and aspiration with action. Cumnock Juniors Community Enterprise also provides dignified food provision, because no one should need to choose between feeding their family and taking part in their community. That is also why it runs affordable and accessible holiday clubs, ensuring that children are not only fed during school breaks but have the chance to play, learn and simply be children. That is what it means for sport to be a force for good.”
“It means recognising that participation looks different at different stages of life, whether that is walking football, which is delivered in partnership with Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland and supports people to stay active and connected, or inclusive cycling opportunities for those with learning disabilities, which is developed alongside the Things Tae Dae club. Those are not add-ons; they are the point. It does not stop there. Cumnock Juniors Community Enterprise understands that wellbeing is not just about what happens on the pitch; it is about the whole person, the whole family and the whole community. That is why it has developed goals for growth, which is an employability programme that meets people where they are at.”
“It has a proud history, a trophy-winning junior team that inspires huge local pride and a vocal but good- natured rivalry with its next-door neighbour, Auchinleck Talbot Football Club. However, to stop there would be to miss the point entirely, because what has been built around that club is something far more powerful than silverware; it is a model of what sport can and should be. At its heart is the simple but radical idea that everyone deserves access—not just the most talented or those who can afford it, but everyone. That means creating opportunities for girls to take part and thrive in spaces that have not always welcomed them. It means opening the door for people who are in recovery, offering not just physical activity but purpose, belonging and hope.”
“I thank my colleague Brian Whittle for securing this excellent debate. I rise to speak about sport being a force for good with a mixture of pride, gratitude and a sense of coming full circle. This will be my last speech in the Parliament, and I can think of no better subject to close on than the power of sport, with regard to not just competition but community, compassion and change. When we talk about sport as a force for good, we are not speaking in abstractions; we are speaking about places, people and projects that transform lives every single day. There is no better example of that than what is happening at Townhead park in Cumnock, in my constituency of Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley. Cumnock Juniors Community Enterprise is, on the surface, a successful football club.”
“On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app would not connect. I would have voted yes. The Deputy Presiding Officer: Thank you, Ms Whitham. Your vote will be recorded.”
“Right now, behind closed doors across this country, women with terminal illnesses who are experiencing domestic abuse have no safeguards. The bill would help to bring that coercion into the light, to remove the power from abusive men and to return that agency to its rightful owner. That is what the bill is about—agency and autonomy. We must give our folk choice. It is, after all, the settled will of the majority of our constituents, including those who are disabled and those who have experienced domestic abuse, especially those who are terminally ill. They are forgotten in all these conversations. They are our most vulnerable citizens. Please vote yes for them. 20:56”
“She took the only legal option that was open to her under our current laws—and it was awful. I do not have the words to describe to members how awful it was, Presiding Officer. If you have not seen somebody starve to death, there are no words to describe it. She deserved better. My decade at Scottish Women’s Aid taught me how real coercion can be, but it also taught me that the answer to risk is not to look away from difficult situations. I spent time training police officers, social workers and housing staff about coercive control before this place had even named it and recognised it. With the right skills, training and opportunity, it can be detected. To say otherwise is simply to walk away from a wicked issue.”
“The house was full on the afternoon that Nicole Bergeron died, peacefully dressed in white daisies. Her bed was surrounded by loved ones, who shared the most tender of moments. She was able to speak to each of them, and the words that she spoke to my best friend were the salve that has helped Nathalie to come to terms with her loss. Nathalie has also described her mother’s death as beautiful. Madame Bergeron, tu me manques énormément. Please contrast Madame Bergeron’s passing with the way in which my mum, Irene, died, 12 years ago this week, after more than two weeks without food or water. She was surrounded by love, absolutely. She had also been assessed as having capacity and as making her choice free from coercion, but she did not have a peaceful death.”
“A Catholic of strong faith in the Quebec Roman Catholic tradition, she said that she knew that her God was merciful and that she had the support of her priest and her community when she set in train the plans that would help her to leave this world on her terms, as she had lived her whole life. Nathalie dropped everything to drive the three hours from Montreal to Shawinigan, where the family gathered for one last evening. There were tears and there were laughs—and, boy, were there commands. Madame Bergeron was conducting like a symphony master. She wanted everything to be just so. Nathalie recounted to me that she could not help but be frustrated at her mum’s painstaking choice over her final pyjamas and dressing gown, until she realised that her beloved maman was dying as she lived—elegant and oh so bossy.”
“She had been living with terminal cancer for more than three years, and it had consumed her entire abdomen. That day in June, she had sat down heavily in her wheelchair and felt something burst inside her very distended stomach. At that moment, she knew that she would develop full- blown peritonitis and sepsis and would require all kinds of pain medications and sedation to try to manage her symptoms, in a hospital setting, before succumbing within the week. That was, categorically, not the path that she wanted. She had lived with the very best of palliative care and, for most of those three years, the palliative effect of the ability to have an assisted death. She called that her security blanket. It had given her great comfort as she chose to live for as long as she could, with grace and courage. She was anything but suicidal.”
“I, too, thank Liam McArthur, from the bottom of my heart, for enabling and empowering us to debate a very important issue. I clearly recall staring for a full five minutes last June at a message from my best friend as the world around me fell away. It was a message of four small words with mammoth implications: “She has called it.” I had known Madame Bergeron from the age of 19. She was the epitome of a classy French chic woman—always immaculately turned out, slightly aloof and sarcastic, and oh so determined. She terrified me and awed me in equal measure. She had pioneering heart surgery when both her kids were still teenagers, and she lived her whole life disabled, yet she commanded every room that she ever entered. She was not always easy to live with, but she was loved fiercely by all those around her.”
“Clarity on what appears on the death certificate is very important, and the current phrasing in the bill, before we vote on amendments, is vague. That is accepted by Liam McArthur and others.”
“To flesh out the issue, if we are looking at statistical significance and the prevalence of disease, we should not lose sight of what the primary cause of death would have been, which is the underlying condition. Mr McArthur’s amendment 46 would allow assisted dying to be put alongside the primary cause of death, but for medical purposes it is important that we understand the prevalence of disease across the population. Stephen Kerr: I cannot dispute that, but the substance that ultimately killed the patient, whose death was brought about through assisted dying, is also statistically relevant. My amendment 225 would bring a clarity that does not exist in Liam McArthur’s proposal alone. I acknowledge what is being said, but we need to be very clear.”
“Indeed, that has been part of our deliberations on the proposed learning disabilities, autism and neurodivergence bill, which will be something to be considered in the next session of Parliament. Some of the provisions in that proposed legislation are, potentially, directly applicable to the issues that Ms Whitham raises. Notwithstanding that, it is my clear expectation that all our mental health services should be providing an environment that is safe, compassionate and person centred, and that includes being responsive to individual needs, including those that pertain to neurodevelopmental conditions.”
“In the light of the concerns that have been expressed by young people and their families that those with co-occurring neurodivergence, or those who are living with the less-understood eating disorder known as avoidant restrictive food intake disorder— ARFID—do not always get the support that they need at Skye house, how can the Scottish Government support the delivery of services in a way that is grounded in inclusive and trauma- informed practice and reflects the needs of those who are neurodivergent? Tom Arthur: I recognise Elena Whitham’s long- standing championing of these issues, and she will be aware of the importance that I place on them, too. It is of the utmost importance that we ensure that all our public services are delivered in a neuro- inclusive way.”
“We are also investing in two new freight flex vessels, which will help to improve capacity for islanders. Islanders should not be penalised when they travel. I am delighted that we are helping not only young islanders but also families with their travel.”
“Islanders should not be restricted by seasonal ferry pricing. Therefore, it is welcome that, in the midst of the continued cost of living crisis under Labour, this SNP Government is investing £1.8 million in 2026-27 to remove peak fares on northern isles ferries. Can the cabinet secretary tell us more about how that decision is expected to benefit island communities? Fiona Hyslop: The member is quite right to identify that islanders consistently face increased costs in a variety of areas. That is why the decision to provide £1.8 million to help to tackle the situation on the northern isles, where islanders faced peak fares in the summer, has been taken. For example, a family of four from Shetland with a car and cabin can save up to £193 per return journey, which is a considerable amount at a time when families face increasing bills.”
“Regardless of the outcome of the final vote on the bill, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has dignity and respect at the end of their life. To that end, for example, we updated our palliative care strategy in September and we have committed £9.4 million in the budget to help hospices to achieve parity with NHS pay levels for their staff. As I have said previously, Parliament’s decision should be based on the merits or challenges of assisted dying rather than any other consideration.”
“In the light of consistent international experience, including data from across Australia, where record additional investment in palliative and end-of-life care accompanied the introduction of voluntary assisted dying, does the cabinet secretary agree that decisions about whether to provide a safeguarded option for terminally ill adults should be determined not solely by projected cost but by whether we are prepared to respond compassionately to dying people who are asking for choice and dignity at the end of life? Neil Gray: I understand Elena Whitham’s question, but I reiterate that the Government is neutral on the issue of assisted dying and Mr McArthur’s bill. It is for members of the Scottish Parliament to consider all the evidence that is put before them to determine whether assisted dying should be legalised in Scotland.”
“I take a moment to acknowledge all the organisations that go into our prisons daily to facilitate recovery opportunities. We owe the likes of Minds Of Recovery and Recovery Enterprises Scotland in Ayrshire, which go into HMP Kilmarnock offering connection and hope, a debt of gratitude and all our support. Audrey Nicoll: Will the member take an intervention? The Deputy Presiding Officer: I am afraid that the member is concluding. Elena Whitham: If we want safer communities, fewer deaths and lower reoffending, we must ensure that our prisons are places where recovery is supported, dignity is upheld and reintegration is real. The Deputy Presiding Officer: I remind all members who wish to speak in the debate to ensure that they have, in fact, pressed their request-to-speak button. 16:20”
“Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems supports the committee’s recommendations and calls for a national service specification with clear standards for alcohol treatment in justice settings. I agree; without clear national standards, inequality and inconsistency will persist. The committee’s overarching conclusion is simple but profound: substance-related harm in Scotland’s prisons reflects wider systemic failures. If policy is truly to align with the principle that substance use is a public health issue with justice consequences, then health, prevention and recovery must be embedded in every aspect of prison life, from healthcare and security to purposeful activity, recovery-focused opportunities and reintegration. I welcome all the work that is under way to bring that to reality.”
“As we have heard, alcohol abuse is a crisis that is all too often forgotten in our justice system. We heard from the convener and from Maggie Chapman that only around 1.1 per cent of those in the prison population have been referred to specialist alcohol services. That is a stark treatment gap. Although withdrawal management on admission is generally effective, support during the remainder of prison time is inconsistent, continuity of care on release is variable and the consequences are grave. The risk of death from alcohol-related causes is three times higher for men who have been in prison and, as we have heard, nine times higher for women compared to the general population. The weeks and months following release are a period of acute vulnerability.”
“On the issues of supply and security, the committee accepts that total interdiction is unrealistic in an era of synthetic drugs. Technology absolutely has a role but must complement, not replace, relationship-based security and investment in staff. Organised crime groups exploit vulnerability within prisons and that must be tackled as part of wider national strategies. However, we cannot measure success by seizures alone. We must reduce harm and demand, including by continuing to ensure that testing of seized substances helps to reduce harm in an ever-evolving market. Disciplinary responses must also be proportionate because there is a clear distinction between organised criminal supply and personal use that is rooted in dependency, with the latter requiring a health-led response and not simply further punishment.”
“Addiction must never be a barrier to accessing mental health care and people in custody should have timely assessment, access to talking therapies, trauma-specific intervention, peer recovery groups and integrated treatment for co- occurring conditions. The report also calls for strengthened, rights- based information and advocacy and for consistent family contact, including digital access and phone calls. That is really important and is not a soft thing either, because contact with family on the outside is vital to wellbeing. There is also a need for expanded anti-stigma training for staff and a guaranteed baseline of purposeful activity across the estate, and Parliament must be able to monitor progress through clear and regular reporting.”
“If we are serious about prevention and early intervention, we must recognise that sustainable reform depends on reducing the pressures created by an overcrowded prison estate and that community justice is not soft justice but smart justice. The committee recommends a custody-focused prevention and early intervention framework that embeds trauma-informed care, properly links mental health and substance use services and supports recovery right through from admission to release. Crucially, the same standards must apply in custody as in the community, and treatment should neither stop when someone enters prison nor collapse when they leave. We have already heard that point highlighted. Parity of mental health provision is essential.”
“Order and safety matter and we must commend the sustained professionalism of prison officers, healthcare staff and police officers who work in extremely challenging circumstances, facing the consequences of organised crime and drug- related emergencies every day, especially, as we have heard, in relation to the circulation of potent drugs such as spice and synthetic opioids. However, punishment does not deliver recovery. Overcrowding is a fundamental barrier to progress and high population levels in prison restrict access to purposeful activity, reduce therapeutic space, compress staff time and disrupt the continuity of care.”
“I welcome the Criminal Justice Committee’s report on substance use in Scotland’s prisons and thank the committee members for their care in ensuring that lived and living experience are at the heart of that report. The evidence that the committee heard was consistent and compelling: substance use in custody is a public health issue with justice consequences. Drug and alcohol use in prison does not begin at the prison gates but reflects trauma, poverty, inequality and untreated mental distress that long predate imprisonment. If we fail to address those drivers, prisons will continue absorbing unmet health and social needs that they were never designed to manage. The committee is clear that enforcement is necessary but not sufficient.”
“To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further details of the support provided to NHS boards to develop specialist care pathways for postural tachycardia syndrome. (S6O-05538)”
“Eating disorders awareness week gives us an opportunity to talk openly, reduce stigma, share stories and build connection, but awareness must be matched by action. This week, we should not only recognise the scale of the challenge but renew our commitment to addressing it fully, consistently and compassionately. I know that the Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing will set that out, because I recognise the work that the Government is doing in this space. For the 100,000 people in Scotland who are living with an eating disorder, for their families and for the communities that surround them, we need to come together on this issue. 20:18”
“If we are serious about parity between mental and physical health, we must demonstrate it. If we are serious about reducing geographical inequality, we must measure and address it. If we are serious about community, we must listen to lived experience. When families say that they feel dismissed, we must respond. When young people say that they are waiting too long, we need to act. When clinicians say that they need clearer pathways, we must provide them. No parent should sit at a kitchen table in tears wondering how to get help for their child; no young person should feel their illness is not the right kind to qualify for support; and no family should feel alone, as we did. Certainly no family should lose their child, as David, who is sitting in the public gallery this evening, did.”
“It means training teachers so that schools can identify concerns early; equipping GPs with the confidence to recognise ARFID and binge-eating disorder; and supporting carers, who often shoulder enormous emotional and practical burdens. I cannot put a number on the amount of time that I have spent in tears over the years. However, community also means political will. The national specification was designed as a 10- year transformation, yet current structures are secured only until the end of the current session of Parliament. Eating disorders transcend political timeframes—they are serious mental illnesses, with among the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric condition. Sustained change requires sustained commitment beyond electoral cycles. If we are serious about early intervention, we must invest in it.”
“A strategy is only as strong as its delivery, and we must, collectively, strive harder, as I know we all want to do. Clinical teams are being asked to implement significant transformation within existing structures and ever-tightening budgets. Waiting time targets and expectations around self-referral require capacity, and the national network itself operates with very limited staffing. We cannot assume that publishing a review means that the problem is solved or that, because structures exist, the experience of families has improved everywhere. That brings me back to the theme of community. Community means peer support, which amazing organisations such as Beat are expanding across the country.”
“The 2021 national review of eating disorder services set out comprehensive, thoughtful recommendations in its “Scottish Eating Disorder Services Review—Full Report”. The 2024 “National Specification for the Care and Treatment of Eating Disorders in Scotland” provides a clear framework for improvement. Through the national eating disorders network, work is being done to improve training via the Turas online learning platform, NHS Inform and NHS 24. Health boards have been asked to audit themselves and plan implementation. That is all good work and it deserves recognition. However, the reality that we continue to hear about from people with lived experience is that the ambition has not yet translated into consistent change on the ground everywhere.”
“Families describe struggling to get recognition for binge-eating disorder, young people with ARFID being told that they do not fit traditional criteria, and people waiting months and sometimes years for specialist input. Meanwhile, presentations are becoming ever more complex. People are navigating eating disorders alongside neurodivergence, trauma, substance use, depression and anxiety. Social media shapes how young people are thinking about food and body image. The increasing availability of glucagon-like peptide-1—GLP-1—weight-loss injections adds another layer to a fast-changing landscape. This is not a static challenge—it is ever evolving. It is important to recognise however, that Scotland has much to be proud of in terms of its policy direction.”
“There was uncertainty about who was responsible for treatment; uncertainty about whether the case was “serious enough”; and uncertainty about what pathways even existed. We met dedicated professionals who wanted to help—I acknowledge that—but we also encountered gaps, a lack of consistent understanding, long waits and no clear, agreed pathway. That experience is not unique. We continue to hear, through helplines and community organisations, that services can be hard to access and late to intervene, and that they are too often driven by crisis management rather than early support. Some people receive excellent care from general practitioners and primary care teams, but there remains significant geographical variation, with support sometimes being dependent on where people live.”
“In my own family, we have experienced the reality of ARFID, and I want to be honest about what that has meant. I have spoken about it before, but it bears repeating. It did not look like what many people imagine an eating disorder to be. There was no discussion about body image and no desire to lose weight. Instead, there was overwhelming anxiety around food: the texture, the smell and the appearance—fears that others might dismiss as fussiness. Meals became battlegrounds and social occasions became stressful or non-existent because they were just too traumatic. Nutrition became an urgent daily concern for us all. When we sought help, we encountered what so many families tell us they experience: uncertainty.”
“They isolate the person who is struggling; the parents and carers, who are frightened and unsure where to turn; and the families, who often feel that they are navigating a complex and fragmented system alone. However, community, connection, shared understanding and peer support can be an absolute lifeline. We know that eating disorders affect at least 1.25 million people across the United Kingdom, including around 100,000 people in Scotland. We also know that the prevalence and complexity of such disorders appear to have increased since the Covid-19 pandemic. Behind those numbers are real lives: people who are living with anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating disorder or avoidant restrictive food intake disorder—ARFID. It is ARFID that I want to speak about personally today.”
“I am pleased to bring to the chamber this debate recognising eating disorders awareness week 2026, which runs from 23 February to 1 March. I thank members from across the chamber for adding their voices to mine on the issue, and I thank the eating disorders charity Beat for providing briefings. I welcome to the public gallery representatives from Beat and SupportED, as well as David, a father who lost his beloved daughter just last year. I pay tribute to them for bearing with us as our decision time this evening crept ever later. This year’s theme is community, and it could not be more important. Eating disorders are profoundly isolating illnesses.”
“When I intervened on Maggie Chapman, we had a brief exchange about how complicated the issue is in many ways, and there is perhaps a lack of wider understanding of how these things operate in practice. I note that concerns have been raised that that change in nomenclature would weaken the protections that are in place that recognise that religious observance and religious education are inherently linked in a faith school. I simply put the point to Maggie Chapman that it is very difficult to separate those two things, particularly in a faith school. In a religious education class, there will be moments when the lesson goes into religious observance, so it is not simple to separate the two.”
“It would put beyond doubt that any provisions in part 1 of the bill would not infringe on or negatively impact section 16 or 21 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 or section 18 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1918, which established the right for denominational provision to exist and set out the powers, functions and responsibilities relating to the operation of such schools. Amendment 24 responds clearly to concerns that the bill, or other amendments that we are considering today, would put into question the long-accepted settlement on denominational education in Scotland. In particular, I note the concerns that the Scottish Catholic Education Service has raised about amendments 6 and 11, which would change the terminology in statute from “religious instruction” to “religious education”.”
“Therefore, it is fair to say that, for at least 100 years, there has been denominational education in the state sector, which is provided by our local authorities in conjunction with religious bodies. Amendment 24 seeks to reiterate the Parliament’s commitment to the story of faith education and denominational schooling in Scotland. It also responds to the serious concerns that have been raised about the lack of direction that the bill sets. Amendment 24 would set out in the bill the Parliament’s continued support for the role, place and function of denominational schools—most notably, Catholic schools, which account for the overwhelming majority of denominational school settings in Scotland.”
“Colleagues will be glad to know that I will not re-rehearse all the reasons for that this afternoon, but the difference in provision stems from a time when there were certain prejudices about the Catholic community— particularly the working-class Irish Catholic community—in Scotland. It is important that, at the outset of our debate this afternoon, we recall that heritage, that history and the importance of the place of those schools in our public life. That was followed by denominational schooling in the Episcopalian church and the establishment of our Jewish school, Calderwood Lodge primary school, in East Renfrewshire, which I know very well.”
“That would help to ensure that the guidance is workable and appropriate across all school types. The requirement for ministers to publish the guidance within 12 months of the section’s commencement reflects the importance of the guidance in providing clarity for schools, pupils and parents on how the changes in the bill should be implemented. I encourage members to support amendment 21. Paul O’Kane: I add my thanks to all those who have been involved in the bill process. Scotland has a long tradition of providing parents and families with the option to send their children to denominational education in a setting that they choose. Much of that stems from a long history—it is more than 100 years since the Education (Scotland) Act 1918 brought Catholic schools into the state sector, which created a fairly unique social contract in Scotland.”
“Amendment 21 also responds to the concerns that were raised about instances of non-inclusive religious observance in non-denominational settings, most notably by Humanist Society Scotland in its “Preaching is not Teaching” report. Ministers preparing the guidance would therefore be required to consider the “importance of inclusiveness in the content and delivery of religious observance”. That would support schools in ensuring that all pupils can participate in a way that respects their personal beliefs, while promoting a time-for- reflection approach. Recognising the distinct context of religious observance in denominational schools, the amendment specifically includes representatives of denominational schools, alongside “operators of schools” and those who represent the interests of parents, pupils and teachers, as mandatory consultees.”
“I will restrict my comments to my amendment 21. I also declare an interest as a member of the Humanist Society Scotland. Amendment 21 would place a duty on Scottish ministers to issue statutory guidance that sets out the “meaning of religious observance” for the purposes of the bill. It would also require the statutory guidance to be published within 12 months of the commencement of the new guidance provision. The amendment reflects calls for clarity on the meaning of religious observance after stage 2, when religious observance and religious and moral education were separated in the bill and the parental right to withdraw was limited to apply only to religious observance.”