The Scottish Government does not regard it as appropriate to engage in public comment in respect of live court proceedings.

Every area of government which is or may be affected by the Supreme Court judgment is reviewing policies, guidance and legislation. This action is co-ordinated by the Working Group on the Supreme Court Judgment, convened by the Permanent Secretary, to ensure a cross-government approach and understanding is taken to this complex area of work.

The Scottish Government has been taking forward the detailed work that is necessary as a consequence of the ruling. Since the judgment, we have:

• Engaged with Health Boards on the requirement to implement the Supreme Court judgment in line with their own legal advice. On 30 September, the Director of Health Workforce wrote to Health Boards to reinforce the importance of complying with the law, and the Supreme Court judgment implemented. Application of the law following the Supreme Court ruling remains a matter for Boards, in accordance with their own legal advice.
• Published revised Supporting Transgender Pupils in Schools Guidance, while recognising that the EHRC are also reviewing Technical Guidance for schools;
• Advanced joint work with Police Scotland, with a public consultation on the Stop and Search Code of Practice scheduled before the end of this year.
• There have been no changes to prisons guidance.

We have also:

• Updated our guidance for the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018.
• Amended the public appointments recruitment process for public bodies subject to the Act, now collating and using biological sex at birth data to apply the Act.
• Moved to an interim Trans and Non-Binary Inclusion Policy, removing a line regarding facilities use, while we develop new policy and guidance in consultation with trade unions.
• Conducted an initial review of facilities across the SG estate with a more detailed review now underway to ensure our provision meets the needs of staff and legal requirements.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS hold our serving staff and prospective staff to the highest of standards. While the vast majority of our staff adhere to the highest standards of conduct, SPS continue to be vigilant to any potential corruption concerns within our establishments. Maintaining the safety and security of Scotland’s prisons is and remains an absolute priority.

The following table sets out the number of prospective or serving employees who have been removed, dismissed or prevented from taking up post due to security concerns.

SPS is only in a position to provide full year data from 2022 due to changes in reporting and recording processes.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS hold our serving staff and prospective staff to the highest of standards. While the vast majority of our staff adhere to the highest standards of conduct, SPS continue to be vigilant to any potential corruption concerns within our establishments. Maintaining the safety and security of Scotland’s prisons is and remains an absolute priority.

The below table sets out the number of prospective employees who have failed pre-employment checks in each of the last 5 full years across all SPS job roles.

The Scottish Government supports music venues through Creative Scotland’s Multi-Year Funding which has increased by £20 million, providing a major boost to Scotland’s cultural sector. This investment provides stability for organisations to plan and deliver high-quality programmes in theatre, visual arts, literature, and music.

Forty-six music organisations now receive multi-year support which is more than double the previous number – with potentially three more in development for
2026-27. The Scottish Government has also put in place 40% non-domestic rates relief for Music Venues with capacity up to 1,500 for 2025-26.

The Scottish Government maintains regular communication with the United Kingdom Government regarding the Dunard Centre, as joint funders of the project through the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal. On the additional capital costs for the project, we have engaged regularly with the UK Government and regional partners through a range of interactions over a number of months.

The additional £20 million pledge from the Scottish Government towards the construction of the Dunard Centre, Edinburgh’s first purpose-built concert hall in 100 years, will be factored into the upcoming spending review and is not set to impact wider funding for culture.

As part of the due diligence required for the additional £20 million pledge, the Scottish Government continues to work with IMPACT Scotland to ensure all cost mitigation measures have been taken to reduce the risk of further increases in construction costs, in addition to assessment of the affordability of latest cost estimates and future sustainability of the organisation post-construction.

The Scottish Government was informally updated that the project capital costs for the Dunard Centre were expected to rise during the course of regular engagement with IMPACT Scotland, the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal Programme Management Office and the United Kingdom Government. The Scottish Government was then notified of the scale of the increase in project capital costs for the Dunard Centre on 26 June 2025 as part of a discussion with IMPACT Scotland.