UK Government Blocks Scottish Gender Reform Bill

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during a press conference on winter pressures in the NHS, at St. Andrews House in Edinburgh on Jan. 16, 2023. Lesley Martin/PA Media

The UK Parliament has triggered a constitutional row by blocking radical gender reforms passed by the Scottish Government, with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon describing the move as a “full-frontal attack.”

Scotland became the UK’s first country to back a self-ID process for legally changing gender when it passed the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill in December.

The bill allows anyone over the age of 16 to self-ID via a statutory declaration to obtain a new birth certificate, which changes the recording of their registered sex at birth to their chosen gender.

There is also no requirement for an applicant to undergo surgery or hormone therapy, and the process to change sex on birth certificates has been simplified.

The time period applicants need to live in the acquired gender will also be reduced from two years to three months, with the requirement for a medical diagnosis and evidence removed.

Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack arrives in Downing Street for the weekly cabinet meeting to be held in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, on Sept. 30, 2020. Leon Neal/Getty Images

On Monday evening, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said that the UK government is making a section 35 order prohibiting the bill from gaining royal assent in its current form, and is urging the Scottish Government to bring back an amended version of the bill for consideration.

This is the first time the UK government has sought such an order. Jack has previously said that he has concerns that the bill has “safety issues for women and children.”

In a statement, Jack said that “after thorough and careful consideration of all the relevant advice and the policy implications, I am concerned that this legislation would have an adverse impact on the operation of Great Britain-wide equalities legislation.”

Equality legislation is not a devolved matter and cannot be decided by the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Government is a devolved government, meaning issues that have a UK or international impact remain the responsibility of the UK Parliament alone.

“Transgender people who are going through the process to change their legal sex deserve our respect, support and understanding. My decision today is about the legislation’s consequences for the operation of GB-wide equalities protections and other reserved matters,” Jack added.

He said that he had “not taken this decision lightly.”

“The Bill would have a significant impact on, amongst other things, GB-wide equalities matters in Scotland, England and Wales. I have concluded, therefore, that this is the necessary and correct course of action,” he said.

“If the Scottish Government chooses to bring an amended Bill back for reconsideration in the Scottish Parliament, I hope we can work together to find a constructive way forward that both respects devolution and the operation of UK Parliament legislation,” added Jack.

The Scottish Saltire (L) and the Union Flag flutter above Stirling Castle in the historic town of Stirling, central Scotland, on Aug. 7, 2019. Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images

‘Full-Frontal Attack’

Writing on Twitter, Sturgeon said that “this is a full-frontal attack on our democratically elected Scottish Parliament and its ability to make its own decisions on devolved matters.”

She added that the Scottish Government “will defend the legislation and stand up for Scotland’s Parliament. If this Westminster veto succeeds, it will be first of many.”

Holyrood Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said the UK government’s move to block the bill was a “dark day for trans rights.”

“The use of Section 35 of the Scotland Act to stop the GRR Bill from proceeding to Royal Assent is an outrageous decision,” said Robison.

“This is a procedure that has never been used under nearly 25 years of devolution and is contrary to a Bill that was overwhelmingly passed by the Scottish Parliament by members of all parties.

“This is a dark day for trans rights and a dark day for democracy in the UK.

“As the First Minister said, this is a political decision that is more in keeping with UK Government’s contempt for devolution and the Scottish Parliament,” she added.

Single-Sex Services

Critics of the legislation say that a self-identification system could be exploited.

Women’s groups as well as the U.N. Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, have raised grave concerns that it will open up women’s services and private spaces to abuse.

On Monday, writing for the Conservative think tank Policy Exchange, lecturer in public law Michael Foran said the bill will fundamentally change the nature of the Equality Act in Scotland and across the United Kingdom.

Foran noted that there are six ways in which the Scottish Gender Bill will change how UK law works.

“It will change the operation of the law in relation to single-sex services, making it potentially more difficult for women-only spaces to exclude biological males,” wrote Foran.

“It will change the operation of the law in relation to single-sex associations which cannot discriminate on the basis of gender reassignment in their membership admissions,” he added.

The report found that single-sex girls’ schools in England will have to admit biologically-male pupils under the bill.

“It will change the law relating to single-sex schools. The law as it stands provides that 16–18-year-old biological males who hold a Gender Recognition Certificate cannot be excluded from single-sex girls’ schools,” he said.

“There is no exception for gender reassignment discrimination in relation to schools. This Bill will confer on certain biological males a legal right of admission to girls’ schools, a right which otherwise does not exist,” he added.

PA Media contributed to this report.