The Scottish Government is “very committed” to working with the UK’s equalities regulator after it wrote to Holyrood ministers about access to single-sex changing spaces, MSPs have been told.
Scottish Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville made plain the Scottish Government will engage with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on the issue.
But while Ms Somerville stressed Scottish ministers “stand firmly behind” provisions in the Equalities Act 2010 – which legislates for the provision of single-sex spaces – she also said they “continue to support the trans community”.
Her comment came as Scottish Conservative equalities spokeswoman Tess White accused SNP ministers of “trying to ride two horses” on the issue.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the Scottish Government is committed to the Equalities Act (PA)
Ms Somerville faced questions in Holyrood after the EHRC last week wrote to the Scottish Government and NHS Fife in the wake of a high profile employment tribunal brought by nurse Sandie Peggie – who was suspended after she complained about having to share a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton at the hospital where they both worked.
The EHRC has now said it wants to meet with Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray to discuss a forthcoming “guide to transitioning” for health boards, while also reminding NHS Fife of its “obligations” under equalities legislation.
Speaking for the Scottish Government, Ms Somerville told MSPs: “We are very, very committed to working with the EHRC. There is a role for government and there is a role for the Commission in this.
“We look forward to working with the Commission and indeed meeting with the Commission in due course to discuss these matters in detail.”
She was questioned on the ongoing row in the wake of reports NHS Fife may have broken the law by failing to carry out an impact assessment before Dr Upton was allowed to use the female changing room.
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Raising the issue, Ms White said this mean NHS Fife “may have failed to comply with its legal obligations to assess the impact of its policies on women”.
Ms Somerville made clear public bodies have a “duty to assess and review proposed, new or revised policies and practices”.
She added: “This Government stands firmly behind the separate and single-sex exemptions provided in the 2010 Act.
“This allows for trans people to be excluded when this is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.”
While she stressed the importance of the “protection of women’s rights”, Ms Somerville also made clear the Scottish Government will “continue to support the trans community”, saying this is “important” because trans people are amongst the “most marginalised in Scotland”.
Nurse Sandie Peggie has taken NHS Fife to an employment tribunal after having to share a hospital changing room with a transgender doctor (Andrew Milligan/PA)
However she added: “We will not do that in a way that provides any doubt on our commitment to the Equality Act and ensuring single-sex space exemptions exist and should have practical effect.”
Ms Somerville said ministers “cannot comment on ongoing cases such as the one in NHS Fife”, but added: “In general ministers are very clear they stand firmly behind the provisions in the Equality Act and the exemptions contained within it.
“We absolutely expect public bodies to conduct their policies and their procedures in line with the legislation in place.”
Conservative MSP Douglas Ross complained that ministers keep giving “the same answer every time and it is not good enough”.
But Ms Somerville told him: “The answers are similar because they are based on the law of the land and the Equality Act, and that is exactly what this Government will continue to refer back to.”