Committee convener Neil Findlay asks why the changes being proposed are not being made immediately.

Scottish Youth Football Association chairman John McCrimmond says the infrastructure must be in place to deliver the changes to the PGV system for next year.

Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan says the provisional category of PGV will disappear next year.

Image source, bbc

SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth asks if the PGV nights involve child protection training.

Mr McCrimmond says the SYFA is working with Disclosure Scotland, the SFA and Volunteer Scotland on child protection training.

Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan says online education will be compulsory for those going through the PGV scheme.

Mr Regan says there is a new team and additional resource in place and he is "very confident with the changes that have been made".

Image source, Thinkstock

Children may be at risk because the system designed to prevent abuse in sport is not working properly, according to a report published in April by the committee.

The report accused the SFA of being "asleep on the job" over the issue.

The committee launched its inquiry after allegations emerged of young footballers being abused by coaches.

BBC Scotland later found that 2,500 youth football coaches did not have full background checks.

The committee said there was a "compelling case" for the current voluntary Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme (PVG) to be made mandatory for all sports organisations in Scotland.

The Scottish government plans to have new legislation in place by 2019.

• Who needs to undergo background checks?

SNP MSP Maree Todd asks how often PGV nights are held by the SYFA.

Mr McCrimmond says they are held every month across the country.

He says support can be given to leagues to hold PGV nights.

Image source, bbc

SNP MSP Clare Haughey asks how someone applies for a PVG.

Scottish Youth Football Association chairman John McCrimmond says the individual presents to the club and points to the written submissions to the committee.

Mr McCrimmond says the individual will not be allowed to join the SYFA but will get a provisional membership on receipt of application.

He says once the PVG is complete the individual gets full membership.

Image source, Getty Images

In March we reported that hundreds of Scottish youth football coaches and officials had been suspended for failing to complete comprehensive background checks.

David Little, head of the Scottish Youth Football Association, said a backlog of vetting through the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme had been completed.

But he told MSPs that 488 people had been automatically debarred.

This was because they had not submitted an application to the process.

At the time BBC Scotland understood a number of youth football clubs have now been told they were no longer eligible to play in their leagues because their coaches don't have the necessary background checks to work with children.

Read more here.

Image source, bbc

Committee convener Neil Findlay gets us underway by introducing the first panel of witnesses:

• Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan
• Scottish Football Association chief operating officer
• Andrew McKinlay Scottish Youth Football chairman John McCrimmond
• Scottish Youth Football Association director of finance Duncan Mayze

MSPs will take evidence from:

• Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan
• Scottish Football Association chief operating officer Andrew McKinlay
• Scottish Youth Football chairman John McCrimmond
• Scottish Youth Football director of finance Duncan Mayze

Image source, Disclosure Scotland

The committee will then hear from:

• Disclosure Scotland chief executive Lorna Gibbs
• Disclosure Scotland director of protection services Gerard Hart

Read the submissions to the committee here.

Image source, Thinkstock

Dozens of youth football coaches and officials who were flagged as a potential danger to children appear to have slipped through the net.

In June BBC Scotland learned the Scottish Youth Football Association (SYFA) was warned 116 of its members were under investigation by Disclosure Scotland.

The SYFA said it was only aware of 69 cases and had taken action to suspend them - meaning 47 were not dealt with.

It said it was urgently trying to clarify the discrepancy.

Scotland's Children's Commissioner said the matter needed "urgent consideration"..

Image source, bbc

BBC Scotland can also reveal Scottish football's governing body, the SFA, has stripped the SYFA of its strategic child safety responsibilities.

The SYFA had been dogged with criticism since December when it emerged it had 2,500 coaches working with children without any background checks.

The criticism included a stinging rebuke by the Holyrood Health and Sport Committee which also took aim at the SFA for being "asleep at the wheel".

Under Freedom of Information legislation, Disclosure Scotland told BBC Scotland's investigations team that over a three-year period - 2014 to 2016 - the vetting body had notified the SYFA 116 times that one of their members was being "considered for listing".

Read more here.

Image source, Andrew Cowan

Ahead of this evidence session Health Committee Convener Neil Findlay said: "The review heard from a number of organisations which helped unearth significant shortcomings in the current system.

"Proper safeguards must be in place to minimise risk for children participating in sport and more work is needed to bring the PVG Scheme up to standard.

"Following their most recent evidence session, we are seeking further assurances these concerns have been addressed.

"We look forward to hearing from the SFA and the SYFA on what progress has been made since the last session and safeguards they have in place to stop this from happening again".

For further information regarding the Child Protection in Sport review and its accompanying report can be accessed here., external

The Scottish Football Association (SFA) and the Scottish Youth Football Association will shortly appear before MSPs for the third time to explain if progress has been made to improve child protection in sport.

This latest evidence session will allow the committee to seek further assurances over the safety of young footballers following its robust critique of the SFA and the SYFA earlier this year.

Image source, PA

A parliamentary inquiry to investigate child protection in sport began a series of evidence sessions earlier this year.

The committee produced its Child Protection in Sport report, external which highlighted changes that should be made to the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme to ensure robust and effective safeguards are in place. These findings are especially pertinent to the SYFA.

A joint response, external to the Committee’s report was received from the Scottish government.

Image source, Katielee Arrowsmith

Whoever the party leaders are and whatever they're saying, we might be able to see them a bit better from now on.

While the MSPs were away for the summer, work crews took their place in the Holyrood chamber to install a new lighting rig.

The new lights cost £1.75m, but will apparently last for 25 years and save money on energy efficiency and bulb-changing.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will set out her programme for government for the coming year at Holyrood this afternoon.

Join us for extensive coverage including social media reaction from around 2.20pm.

The SNP leader has promised her "most ambitious plan ever", with education expected to be the principal focus.

An Education Governance Bill is one of more than a dozen expected, with action on the economy, housing and the environment also planned.

A deposit return scheme to cut plastic waste is also expected to be announced.

Image source, Reuters

Opposition parties will get a chance to outline their priorities in three days of debate following the speech.

Prior to the summer recess, the first minister indicated that she would use the break to "take stock and refresh" her government, aiming for "creative, imaginative, bold and radical policies".

Policies already trailed include an end to the 1% cap on public sector pay increases, which was the topic of heated debate at Holyrood earlier in the year, and legislation to pardon gay men convicted of same-sex offences before laws against homosexuality were dropped.

Read more here.

Image source, Thinkstock

Good morning and welcome back to Holyrood Live, your one stop shop for everything you need to know about the goings on at the Scottish Parliament.

I hope you all had a wonderful summer recess, I know I did!

Image source, Getty Images

However its straight back to business today, with Nicola Sturgeon's programme for government set to dominate proceedings.

Image source, PA

However we begin proceedings with MSPs taking evidence on child protection in sport.