MBM policy analysis

Established in late 2018, MurrayBlackburnMackenzie is a policy analysis collective, made up of Dr Kath Murray, Lucy Hunter Blackburn and Lisa Mackenzie. Between us, we have extensive experience in policy-making, research and communications.

Over the past year, we have researched and written about sex and gender self-identification across different areas of public policy in the UK.

We are Edinburgh based, and work in both a voluntary and commissioned capacity.

“If policy is to be based on evidence, then the evidence has to be as independent of ideological points of view as is possible. MBM Scottish policy analysis has an admirable record of trying to achieve that.”

Lindsay Paterson, Professor of Education Policy, University of Edinburgh

The placement of trans prisoners

January 17, 2020January 22, 2020by Kath Murray

In response to a parliamentary question by Johann Lamont MSP on how acquisition of a gender recognition certificate (GRC) affects a prisoner’s legal rights in relation to accommodation, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice stated that ‘Acquiring a gender recognition certificate…

Losing consensus on the census

January 13, 2020January 13, 2020by Kath Murray

Within the last fifteen months, an intense debate has broken out over whether the sex question in the 2021 census should be framed in terms of self-declared gender identity, legal or biological sex. We think that this loss of consensus…

Recording sex on medical records: a case study of NHS Scotland

January 12, 2020by Lisa Mackenzie

Background Sex is an objective, verifiable, fundamental and immutable characteristic of the human body. Belonging to either the male or the female sex category has profound impacts on the medical needs of a person. This includes needs pertaining to the…

Gender Recognition Act reform: The purpose of the GRA

December 27, 2019January 22, 2020by Kath Murray

Background 1. In December 2019 the Scottish Government published its draft Bill on reforming the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA) and opened its plans to consultation. The draft Bill can be accessed here, the explanatory notes here, and the…

MBM response to Scottish Government consultation on GRA reform

December 17, 2019January 22, 2020by Lisa Mackenzie

“We welcome this further consultation. We now need a transparent process, in which substantial questions about law, evidence and analysis receive substantial answers. The Scottish Government must engage fully with people from all perspectives, particularly groups who have expressed concern…

Draft guidance under consideration for 2021 census sex question: summary of proposals

December 10, 2019by Lisa Mackenzie

1. Background and timing In early 2020, the UK census authorities will finalise the questions they propose to ask in the next census, which will take place on 21 March 2021. Draft census orders will be laid in both the…

2019 UK general election party manifesto commitments on GRA reform

November 28, 2019November 28, 2019by Lisa Mackenzie

Conservatives: No reference to reform of the Gender Recognition Act. Liberal Democrats: “Complete reform of the Gender Recognition Act to remove the requirement for medical reports, scrap the fee and recognise non-binary gender identities.” Other related proposals: “Introduce an ‘X’…

Last chance saloon: preserving the integrity of the sex question in the 2021 census

November 1, 2019November 1, 2019by Kath Murray

Last month, following a parliamentary evidence session on the 2021 census, the Scottish Parliament’s Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee (CTEEA) Committee wrote to the National Records of Scotland (NRS), asking for further clarification on several points. This blog discusses…

GRA reform and ‘International Best Practice’

October 13, 2019January 22, 2020by Kath Murray

Key points The Scottish Government has cited alignment with ‘international best practice’ as a rationale for reforming the Gender Recognition Act to allow for the statutory self-declaration of sex as a matter of law [or statutory self-declaration of gender]…

Established in late 2018, MurrayBlackburnMackenzie is a policy analysis collective, made up of Dr Kath Murray, Lucy Hunter Blackburn and Lisa Mackenzie. Between us, we have extensive experience in policy-making, research and communications.

Over the past year, we have researched and written about sex and gender self-identification across different areas of public policy in the UK.

We are Edinburgh based, and work in both a voluntary and commissioned capacity.

Lindsay Paterson, Professor of Education Policy, University of Edinburgh

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