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I look forward to the education part when the bill is introduced. There is no use in listening to people’s lived experiences and punishing those who have done wrong if we cannot also educate people, because education is very important. I know that you mentioned that, but it is very important.

Good morning. Ian Duddy, in your opening statement, you mentioned that you are setting out a plan and a vision for the future. With that in mind, we all know that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill would have had a significant impact on the Scottish Human Rights Commission, such as through the powers in section 10A. Is the continuing uncertainty around when the amended bill will be reintroduced causing issues for the commission in its long-term planning, and would the commission like more clarity from the Scottish Government on the timescale for the bill’s reintroduction?

Thank you for that information. You have spoken about your budget and your ask for the year ahead. For clarity, is that included in the figure, or is there uncertainty because you are looking for more staff and more money but you are not certain about when the work will come through? That could affect your long-term planning and the budget side.

Thank you.

I had a catch-up call from Ian Duddy, as I am sure my colleagues did. One of the questions that he asked was what the top priorities are in our constituencies and regions. That is important. I do not know how many MSPs the commission has reached out to—perhaps it was just committee members—but all MSPs represent a constituency or region, so it might be good to reach out to them to see what their top concerns are. We are on the ground and we listen to people. Obviously, you mentioned the cost of living, but there are many other areas, so that might be a good idea.

Two weeks ago, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, raised a number of concerns about the Scottish Government’s proposed Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. As you will be aware, Ms Alsalem raised concerns that the Scottish Government’s proposed reforms could

“open the door for violent males who identify as men to abuse the process of acquiring a gender certificate and the rights that are associated with it.”

and that

“This presents potential risks to the safety of women in all their diversity”.

Does the SHRC have any comments to make on that intervention by the United Nations, and do witnesses agree with Reem Alsalem that the bill should be postponed so that such concerns can be properly addressed?

In your opening statement, you mentioned the big areas that you will focus on. How do you come to a conclusion on which areas you would like to focus on in creating your vision and plan?

Thank you, Ian. You are absolutely right that human rights should be for everybody—I have said that many times in the committee and in the chamber—and that is why you are here today. We are talking about these rights, and, yes, these rights should be there to protect trans people as well as women and girls, and that is why the concern exists: we do not want predators out there pretending and able to obtain a gender recognition certificate to do that.

You have talked about concerns; you have mentioned that. Do you not think that it would be a good idea if the Scottish Government were to postpone the bill to look at the concerns, because they have been highlighted? We cannot just dismiss somebody from the United Nations saying something now; I know that you have said that they said something else previously, but it is very clear that that has been said now, so should we not look at that?

This is to protect trans people as well, so that they do not get blamed later on for something. I have said it very plainly and clearly in the committee that we should have rights for everybody, and we need to make sure of that. Trans people really need those rights, and they have been fighting for them. They should get their rights, but we should also make sure that women and girls are safe from the actual, real bad people, not the trans people.

We support amendments 147 and 149, because both offer the opportunity for more data collection.

With regard to amendment 147, we especially welcome data being collected on the number of gender recognition certificate applications that are received and the number that are rejected. Should a large number of such applications be rejected, it would be important to know why. We also welcome provisions on the number of applications that are received from prison, because assaults on female inmates by males pretending to be transgender have occurred elsewhere in the UK.

Amendment 147 would also allow us to analyse how the change in the law impacts on the overall number of gender recognition certificates that are granted. The Scottish Government has made estimates of the number of applications that will result from the change; the amendment would allow for those estimates to be measured against reality. I therefore hope that the Scottish Government welcomes amendment 147.

Amendment 149 calls for more data collection on trans healthcare. The waiting times in that respect are long, so it is important that we measure the impact of the legislation on them, especially as the bill opens the window to more people being eligible for a gender recognition certificate. The impact of the legislation needs to be measured for every affected group, and the amendment would help to achieve that.

Thank you for your response, cabinet secretary, but I want to clarify what you said about emergency situations. If I were, say, knocked down by a car and the doctor who dealt with me at the time was male rather than female, our religions would allow them to operate on me. However, our religion does not allow that to happen when you walk into a doctor’s surgery, because you have a choice and you can ask. Emergency situations are very different.

It is good to hear that you have spoken to these organisations. The same organisations came to me, too; they could not tell you these things, because they were scared of the Parliament, of the Scottish Government and of this bill coming out. I come from that background and I know that the organisations have voiced such concerns; indeed, we had an organisation that came in here in private to voice them, too. Good on it for doing so, but others have been so scared. Just a few days ago, I was speaking to people for the consultation on my proposed member’s bill, and they said, “Thank God you have phoned us and are speaking to us, because we feel that, with the legislation that is going through now, our voices have not been heard.” Islamic scholars and major organisations have come forward, too.

I am simply putting on record what those organisations have said to me. Emergency situations are very different, and what I am asking for is a very different thing.

Can I say a few words, convener?