Question reference: S5W-26836
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 6 January 2020
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 January 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners identified as falling within the Scottish Prison Service Gender Identity and Gender Reassignment Policy have requested accommodation according to self-declared identity in a (a) men’s or (b) women’s prison, also broken down by how many requests were approved.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
SPS is currently unable to provide information on transgender people who are no longer in our care.
However, I can advise that on Wednesday 8 January 2020 there were 14 people in Scottish prisons who were identified on the Prisoner Records System as having, at some stage, engaged in the gender reassignment process. This number includes 3 people who had previously began the gender reassignment process but who now identify with the gender they were assigned at birth.
Of those currently in SPS care, 7 transwomen have previously requested to be accommodated in the women’s estate; 4 of these requests are currently being facilitated. One transman, currently residing in the women’s estate, has previously requested to be accommodated in the men’s estate.
Decisions as to the most appropriate location to accommodate transgender people are made on an individualised basis after careful consideration of all relevant factors, including risk and the individual’s preference.