Ministers will not appeal s 35 ruling, nor withdraw bill

The Scottish Government will not appeal the judgment refusing its application for judicial review of the UK Government’s use of a s 35 order to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, the cabinet secretary in charge of the bill has confirmed.

Shirley-Anne Somerville told the Scottish Parliament that although the bill could not proceed to Royal Assent, "it remains to be seen what a future government will do". The Scottish Government would not withdraw the bill, but "If a future UK Government is willing, we will work with it so that the s 35 order can be lifted and the bill can progress."

She maintained that the Scottish Government was offering to work with the UK Government so that the bill could progress, but that "Due to the intransigence of the current UK Government, I am confident that any repetition of our offer to seek compromise would again be rebuffed. We will therefore focus on working with an incoming UK Government, which we hope will have more respect for devolution and be willing to work together, even when, at times, we disagree."

The Government would continue to work with LGTBI+ communities "to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience help to improve outcomes for those communities", including in relation to healthcare.

Taking questions on her statement, the cabinet secretary said there were no amendments that could have been made at stage 3 of the bill that would have prevented the UK Government taking its action (a matter disputed by Conservative Sue Webber).

She declined to disclose the legal advice on the basis of which the Government had acted.

Read the statement and questions here.