Scottish ministers want urgent meeting with UK Government on gender ruling

Scotland’s Social Justice Secretary plans to make a statement on the judgment at the Scottish Parliament next week.

Campaigner with a sign saying a woman is a an adult human female — The court ruled that the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 relate to biology (Lucy North/PA)

Scottish ministers have called for an urgent meeting with the UK Government on the implications of the Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman.

Scotland’s Social Justice Secretary plans to make a statement at the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday’s judgment next week.

The Scottish Government lost its Supreme Court battle against women’s rights campaign group For Women Scotland when the UK’s highest court ruled the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 “refer to a biological woman and biological sex”.

The ruling means transgender women with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) can be excluded from single-sex spaces if “proportionate”, the Supreme Court said.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Supreme Court judgment has given clarity between two pieces of legislation passed at Westminster and we have accepted this in full.

“Scottish Ministers have now written to the UK Government to seek an urgent meeting to discuss the implications of the judgment, and the Social Justice Secretary will give a statement to the Scottish Parliament next week on the judgment, subject to Parliamentary approval.

“Ministers will also meet with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) next week.

“The Scottish Government acted in good faith in our interpretation of both the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Equality Act 2010; and our approach was guided by the published guidance of the EHRC.

“The Supreme Court judgment explicitly references that this stance was consistent with EHRC advice and we note that that the EHRC are now reviewing their guidance to reflect the ruling.

“We will continue to engage with the EHRC and other stakeholders and are fully committed to protecting everyone’s rights and ensuring that Scotland remains an inclusive country.”

Susan smith (left) and Marion Calder (right) co-directors of For Women Scotland celebrate outside the Supreme Court (Lucy North/PA)

EHRC chairwoman Baroness Kishwer Falkner has said the court ruling means trans women cannot use single-sex female toilets, changing rooms or compete in women’s sports.

She vowed to pursue organisations which do not update their policies in line with the judgment and said trans rights organisations should be advocating for “third spaces” such as unisex toilets or changing rooms.

The commission is expecting to lay an updated statutory code of practice before the UK Parliament by the summer, and has said it is working “at pace to incorporate the implications of this judgment” into the code for public bodies setting out their duties under the Equality Act.