UK government weighing up response to gender change law in Scotland

Published by Scott Challinor on December 9th 2022, 10:20am

The UK government is reported to be considering its response to a new law set to be passed by Holyrood, making it easier for people in Scotland to obtain a gender recognition certificate.

The law intends to simplify the process and shorten the timescales for people in Scotland to be able to change their gender on their birth certificate and other legal documents if they wish to do so.

The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill could be approved by MSPs before the end of December. However, the BBC’s David Wallace Lockhart reports that Westminster could refuse to recognise the law change or even mount a legal challenge against it.

UK government ministers are responsible for gender laws in England and Wales are not planning to align with Holyrood on the matter. But should the UK government refuse to recognise the law and any documents issued under it, or even challenge the legislation, it could cause major problems for transgender people whose status is recognised in Scotland but wish to relocate to other parts of the UK.

Equalities secretary Kemi Badenoch has already written to the Scottish government, requesting discussions about the Bill amid concerns from Westminster. Scotland’s social justice secretary Shona Robinson has said that she’d be “happy to meet” with the equalities minister over the matter.

It is understood that UK government ministers' concerns arise from the fact that the new gender law in Scotland could indirectly affect areas of policy which are under Westminster’s jurisdiction.

The BBC quotes a UK government source as saying that there were concerns that people from other parts of the UK could relocate to Scotland to change gender, for example.

The same source also suggested that the Scottish government could be using the Bill to gauge how laws passed by Holyrood could influence affairs beyond its borders.

Meanwhile, the Scottish government is reported to be confident that Westminster would not be able to mount a successful legal challenge, since the Bill involves areas of law that are Holyrood’s responsibility. 


Photo by Kyle on Unsplash

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Scott Challinor
Business Editor
December 9th 2022, 10:20am

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