Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether it is responsible for ensuring that clear, legally robust definitions are consistently applied across all public bodies and publicly funded organisations, particularly in relation to the fundamental definitions of “woman” and “child”, and whether it will make adherence to such definitions a condition of public funding to prevent any unnecessary costs to the public purse and any erosion of public trust as a result of potential safeguarding failures being exposed through whistleblower-led legal challenges.
Public bodies and organisations operating in Scotland can be affected by a wide range of law in both devolved and reserved areas, with differing statutory mechanisms for enforcement. The Scottish Ministers may, in some cases, be subject to statutory duties to issue guidance to affected organisations and groups. However, other public bodies will have a statutory roles in regulating enforcement and issuing guidance about areas of law, including those reserved to the UK Parliament.
For payments made by the Scottish Government to public bodies and publicly funded organisations in Scotland, the Scottish Government expects those bodies to comply with the full range of legal obligations imposed on them by all relevant legislation. This includes duties under the Equality Act 2010, where key provisions on matters such as discrimination and the various protected characteristics, including sex, are reserved, or under health and safety workplace regulations, which are also reserved.