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 the NRS response to the Committee, as it relates to the sex question and highlights … Continue reading Last chance saloon: preserving the integrity of the sex question in the 2021 census

 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 Government cites the Yogyakarta Principles and Resolution 2048 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council … Continue reading GRA reform and ‘International Best Practice’

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 Recognition Certificate and how we will bring Scotland into line with international best practice' (p.18). … Continue reading 20 questions on GRA reform and gender self-declaration

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 you/your community or others? Are they positive or negative impacts? The framing of sex question … Continue reading Scotland’s Census 2021 Impact Assessments Stakeholder Survey: MBM response

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 Scottish Parliament in a separate process that is now underway. In relation to the sex … Continue reading Losing count: consultation on the sex question in 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 on the number of Scottish citizens who identify as transgender. The proposed trans question will … Continue reading MBM statement on the 2021 census

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 The Times on Saturday 31 August, the former Chair of the Equality and Human Rights … Continue reading Scottish Affairs paper on policy capture: update