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
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…
Gender Recognition Act reform: The purpose of the GRA
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…
Last chance saloon: preserving the integrity of the sex question in the 2021 census
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’
Key pointsThe 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] (“self-declaration”). The Scottish…
20 questions on GRA reform and gender self-declaration
The Government's Programme for Scotland 2019/2020 states that the Scottish Government will 'consult on the detail of a draft Gender Recognition Bill by the end of this year, setting out our proposals to reform the current process of obtaining a Gender…
Scotland’s Census 2021 Impact Assessments Stakeholder Survey: MBM response
We have completed the National Records of Scotland (NRS) online survey on the draft Equality Impact Assessment for Scotland's 2021 census. Our main substantive responses are shown below. Q. What do you think are the most significant impacts on…
Losing count: consultation on the sex question in the 2021 census
Background In June 2019 the Scottish Parliament passed the Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill, with the effect of introducing new voluntary questions on gender self-identity and sexual orientation in the 2021 census. The detailed census questions will be agreed by the…
MBM statement on the 2021 census
Earlier this year, MSPs from all parties voted to include a new question on trans status in the 2021 Census. Gender reassignment is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, so it is right that the census collects data…
Scottish Affairs paper on policy capture: update
We have been delighted by the response we've had to our paper on policy capture and gender self-identification in the current edition of Scottish Affairs. It was downloaded almost 5,000 times in the 12 days following publication. In his column in…
