Question reference: S6W-07574
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 4 April 2022
-
Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 May 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how a false declaration will be demonstrated, in the context of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.
Answer
It is an existing criminal offence to knowingly make a false statutory declaration and the Bill creates a new offence of knowingly making a false application for legal gender recognition. The maximum penalty for these offences is imprisonment for up to 2 years or an unlimited fine, or both.
There is provision in the Bill for a person with an interest in a Gender Recognition Certificate, such as the Registrar General to make an application to the Sheriff for revocation of a GRC on the grounds that it was fraudulently obtained. For example, the Registrar General may receive information that would have led to the refusal of the application or a person may make it known they have submitted a false application.
As with any criminal offence, it would be a matter for the police, the procurator fiscal and the courts to demonstrate and determine where an offence has been committed.