The Scottish Government has recommmitted to legislation which would allow someone to self-identify their legally recognised sex without medical evidence.
The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament in December 2022 but it was blocked by the UK Government as a result of fears it would impact UK-wide equality laws.
The legislation was vetoed by Westminster under Section 35 of the Scotland Act.
The Scottish government brought a legal challenge to the veto but it was rejected by the court of Session in Edinburgh last year.
The Scottish Government has recommmitted to legislation which would allow someone to self-identify their legally recognised sex without medical evidence
PA
Scottish First Minister John Swinney, who was sworn in last week, declined to answer whether he would open up discussions with any future Labour government on the Gender Recognition Reform Bill.
He told the BBC he would "wait and see" what the political landscape was like.
But the Scottish government has since confirmed that its position remains that it wants to see the section 35 challenge lifted and for the legislation to take effect.
But Swinney denied that the appointment of Kate Forbes as his deputy would make the Scottish government less progressive.
Instead he insisted that his administration was “on the side” of LGBT people.
Speaking from Bute House, he told Sky News: “The protection of the rights of LGBT individuals in our society is absolutely fundamental to my government – the protection of those rights and the enhancement of those rights.”
Swinney said he had not discussed abandoning the Gender Recognition Reform Bill with Kate Forbes when appointing her as his deputy.
He added that the “reality of the situation” was that the courts had ruled they were unable to proceed with it.
Labour have indicated that they would not repeal the section 35 order if they formed the next UK government.
A Scottish government spokesperson said: "The GRR Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament. If the UK government lifted its legal block – the section 35 order - it would become law.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
“The problem is that the current UK government has said they will not.
“The Scottish government’s position is simple - UK government should lift their section 35 order.
“They have made clear however that they will not, and until they do, it is simply not legal to implement the legislation.”
