'It has implications much further than Earlston Primary School' - gender court ruling analysis
This week's court order against Scottish Borders Council made it clear that state schools in Scotland must provide single-sex toilets for pupils.
The case was brought before the Supreme Court ruling, but the fact its outcome was announced in the following days means it is very much linked.
It has implications that reach much further than Earlston Primary School and one council. This case, again, made crystal clear that public bodies have obligations under law that contradict the drift of policymaking in recent years.
Every area of public life has been affected by guidance that was aimed at making life easier for trans and non-binary people.
The aim - to help a group of people who often feel alienated be more comfortable - might be laudable, but at almost every turn its execution was cack-handed.
The controversial Gender Recognition Reform Act ended up being blocked by the previous Conservative UK Government, a decision that was backed by the courts.
Unsurprisingly, the Scottish Government confirmed it will no longer be pursuing this legislation in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling despite legal commentators suggesting the judgment will have little effect on the Act.
Bloody-mindedness and a refusal to listen to critics led to the shambles of the Isla Bryson case.
Bryson raped two women and transitioned to self-identify as a woman after being charged but before conviction and imprisonment in a female prison.
Following a backlash, Bryson was transferred to a male prison.
Now wider Scottish Government guidance will have to change in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling last week that the definition of a 'woman' in the Equality Act is based on biology.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville and Health Secretary Neil Gray are meeting the Equalities and Human Rights Commission on Thursday (NOTE: today, wasn't sure on style) to flesh out what alterations now have to be made, particularly around single-sex spaces.
This will affect every public body in Scotland and will be a major shift in how public policy operates in Scotland.
It will be a major challenge to ministers and officials to ensure they uphold women's rights as has been laid out to them by the law while ensuring that trans people's lives are not made worse.
So far, despite their intentions, that has been the ultimate result of government actions.
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