Question reference: S5W-26954
- Asked by: Joan McAlpine, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 16 January 2020
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Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 January 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether ministers are aware of the convictions of Katie Dolatowski and Karen White in 2018, and, if so, what assessment it has made of their relevance to the statements at paragraphs 10 and 11 on page 174 of its consultation paper on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.
Answer
It would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment on individual cases. In relation to prisons, the Scottish Prison Service carry out risk assessments when deciding where a prisoner should be housed. These risk assessments take account of risks to the individual prisoner, to other prisoners and to staff. More generally, the Scottish Government supports the single sex exceptions in the Equality Act 2010 which allow women-only services and allow services to exclude trans people when this is proportionate and in pursuit of a legitimate aim. These will not change under our proposals.