The Scottish Parliament is the unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyrood. The Parliament is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), elected for five-year terms under the regionalised form of Additional-member system (MMP): 73 MSPs represent individual geographical constituencies elected by the plurality (first-past-the-post) system, while a further 56 are returned as list members from eight additional member regions. Each region elects seven party-list MSPs. Each region elects 15 to 17 MSPs in total. The most recent general election to the Parliament was held on 6 May 2021, with the Scottish National Party winning a plurality.
John Ramsay Swinney is a Scottish politician who has served as First Minister of Scotland since May 2024. Swinney has served as Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) on two occasions, since May 2024 and between 2000 and 2004. He has held various roles within the Scottish Cabinet from 2007 to 2023 under First Ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. Swinney was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North Tayside from 1999 to 2011 and, following boundary changes, has been MSP for Perthshire North since 2011. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Tayside North from 1997 to 2001.
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution. Its areas for responsibility of decision making and domestic policy in the country include the economy, education, healthcare, justice and the legal system, rural affairs, housing, the crown estate, the environment, the fire service, equal opportunities, the transportation network, and tax, amongst others.
Mark Lazarowicz is a British Labour Co-operative politician and lawyer who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh North and Leith from 2001 to 2015.
Wendy Alexander is a retired Scottish politician and the former Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Paisley North. She held various Scottish Government cabinet posts and was the Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2007 to 2008. In June 2008, the Scottish Parliament's standards committee ruled that Wendy Alexander broke parliament rules by failing to register donations on her MSPs' register of interests. Wendy Alexander quit as Scottish Labour leader. In 2010–2011 she convened the Scotland Bill Committee on financial powers of the Scottish Parliament.
William Stewart Maxwell is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He was the Minister for Communities and Sport from 2007 to 2009 and a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West of Scotland region from 2003 to 2016.
Catherine Mary Jamieson is a Scottish business director, currently a director at Kilmarnock Football Club and former politician. She served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2000 to 2008. She previously served in the Scottish Executive as Minister for Justice from 2003 to 2007 and Minister for Education and Young People from 2001 to 2003. Jamieson was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley from 1999 to 2011 and was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Kilmarnock and Loudoun from 2010 to 2015.
The Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act was an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in February 2002, making Scotland the first part of the United Kingdom to ban traditional fox hunting and hare coursing. It was repealed in 2023.
Joseph Martin FitzPatrick is a Scottish politician who most recently served as Minister for Local Government Empowerment and Planning from March 2023 to May 2024. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Dundee City West since the 2007. Prior to his most recent Ministerial appointment, he was Convener of the Scottish Parliament's Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. He served as Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing from 2018 to until his resignation in 2020. He also served as Minister for Parliamentary Business from 2012 to 2018.
Aileen Elizabeth Campbell is a Scottish football administrator and former politician who has served as the chief executive of Scottish Women's Football since 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party, she was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for fourteen years and was a Scottish Government minister for ten, having served on the Scottish Cabinet as Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government, from 2018 to 2021.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Scotland are generally in line with the rest of the United Kingdom, which have evolved extensively over time and are now regarded as some of the most progressive in Europe. In both 2015 and 2016, Scotland was recognised as the "best country in Europe for LGBTI legal equality".
Section 28 refers to a part of the Local Government Act 1988, which stated that local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship". It is sometimes referred to as Clause 28, or as Section 2A in reference to the relevant Scottish legislation.
Scottish Parliament committees are small groups of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who meet on a regular basis to scrutinise the work of the Scottish Government, conduct inquiries into subjects within their remit and examine legislation. Much of the everyday work of the Scottish Parliament is done by these committees.
Ruth Bernadette Maguire is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Cunninghame South since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.
Tam Baillie is a Scottish youth worker and policy manager who served as Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People between 2009–2017. Baillie was the chair of the organising committee for the 2023 International Play Association Conference in Glasgow.
The Scottish Land Commission was established by the Scottish Government following the passage of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 by the Scottish Parliament; the Commission also incorporates the work of the Tenant Farming Commissioner. The Lands Commissioners, who constitute the Commission, have functions relating to land in Scotland, so that they address issues which relate to ownership of land, land rights, management of land, and use of land. The Tenant Farming Commissioner has the aim of improving the relationship between tenant farmers and land owners, and can create codes of practice, provide practical guidance, and must consult on such matters. The Tenant Farming Commissioner cannot be an agricultural landlord or agricultural tenant, and will develop codes of practice which are in addition to the law and the jurisdiction of the Scottish Land Court.
The Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Act 2002 is legislation that introduced arrangements for complaints against any Member of the Scottish Parliament to be investigated independently. It established the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, who was given powers to summon witnesses and compel evidence.
The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill is a bill passed by the Scottish Parliament. The bill seeks to amend the Gender Recognition Act 2004 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, making it simpler for people to change their legal gender. On 17 January 2023, the United Kingdom government used section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 to block the bill from receiving royal assent, the first time section 35 has been used.
The Children and Young People's Commission Act 2022 is a New Zealand Act of Parliament that establishes the Children and Young People's Commission and repeals the Children's Commissioner Act 2003. The Bill was formerly part of the proposed "Oversight of the Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People's Commission Bill" until it was split into two separate pieces of legislation by the New Zealand Parliament on 11 August 2022. Together, the bill and the companion Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act 2022 replaced the Office of the Children's Commissioner, the independent national Children's ombudsman.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 is an act of the Scottish Parliament that established several provisions with regard Scottish Parliament complying with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
