Rachael Kelsey gives evidence to Scottish Parliament Committee
3rd September 2026
Rachael Kelsey has been invited to give evidence to the Scottish Parliament Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee today. The meeting is the first of three sessions that the Committee will hold to hear from stakeholders about issues that come within their remit- this session looking at the Civil Justice issues.
The agenda recognises that there are a number of significant family law issues that need scrutiny: implementation of existing legislation relating to children and, in particular the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation)(Scotland) Act 2024; the speed with which we are tackling domestic abuse, and again issues around delay in implementation of the Domestic Abuse (Protection)(Scotland) Act 2021 and proposed law reform in the areas of the minimum age of marriage, cohabitation and simplified divorce.
It is very welcome that the 2026-2031 Committee chose a number of family law specific issues for their first session. There is much useful work they could do to interrogate why legislation we have on our books is not yet in force, whether there has been sufficient thought given to the practical impact, and operation, of intended remedies and, indeed, the unintended consequences of some of the legislation we have, and that is proposed.
