Top civil servant told to ‘get on it' after ruling on gender
Mr Griffin insisted the Scottish Government was 'taking action where we think that is appropriate and possible', pending a further update from regulators at the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
But with two women's rights groups – For Women Scotland and Sex Matters – now threatening further legal action against the Scottish Government, Ms Thomson told the top civil servant he should 'get on it'.
She challenged the Permanent Secretary on the issue in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling back in April that the words 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.
That judgment came about after a challenge to the Scottish Government by For Women Scotland – with ministers, including First Minister John Swinney, making clear that while they accept that, they are waiting for further guidance from the EHRC before acting.
The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body made changes to its policy on the use of toilet facilities in the Holyrood building in May (Image: Jane Barlow/PA) Ms Thomson however pointed out that at Holyrood the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has ruled that the use of toilet facilities designated as either male or female will be based on biological sex – preventing trans people from using the toilet of their preferred gender.
Mr Griffin insisted there is a 'range of action we have been taking already', adding that Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville had tasked him with leading a short life working group 'to take stock of the actions we need to take'.
Speaking as he gave evidence to MSPs on the Finance and Public Administration Committee, Mr Griffin said: 'These are the actions we are taking while we wait for the end of the EHRC process to review their statutory guidance.
'Once that is finalised we will then be able to take a further series of actions.'
He added: 'We are taking action where we think that is appropriate and possible, pending the finalisation of the EHRC guidance.'
READ MORE:
When Ms Thomson then demanded to know what action had been taken 'beyond talking about taking action', Mr Griffin told her: 'Specific actions, I can't give you that right now.'
But he insisted the work being done was looking to 'prepare the ground' so that the government is ready to implement changes once the EHRC guidance is finalised.
The Permanent Secretary said: 'We in the Scottish Government are in a very similar position to the UK Government and the Welsh Government in our understanding of our responsibility being we need to wait for the guidance for the implementation of some actions.'
Michelle Thomson insisted Scotland's most senior civil servant needs to 'get on it' and act after a landmark Supreme Court ruling (Image: Andrew Milligan/PA) But with two potential further legal challenges that Ms Thomson said could potentially result in a 'significant loss of public money', the SNP MSP told him she was 'staggered why you are not acting now'.
Mr Griffin said the advice he was given 'remains nevertheless that we should wait for the statutory regulator to finalise their guidance'.
He added: 'I am assured that the advice that I've got is the correct advice.
'We find ourselves in a very similar position to our colleagues at Westminster and in Cardiff.'
But Ms Thomson told him: 'I think my firm advice to you would be to look afresh at that. It is no justification under law, frankly, to say: 'Ah well, that's what everybody else was doing.'
'The Supreme Court judgment was compellingly clear, there is a threat of two further legal actions. My firm advice to you, Permanent Secretary, would be to get on it, because I think you are ultimately the accountable officer responsible for ensuring the Scottish Government upholds the law.
'And regardless of your view in this matter, I personally think it is a very poor look that we're 10 weeks later and we haven't done anything about it.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
STV News
19 minutes ago
- STV News
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner to defend welfare reforms at PMQs
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner is set to defend the UK Labour Government's welfare reforms amid a growing rebellion at PMQs on Wednesday. It's the second week in a row that Rayner is filling in for Starmer at PMQs. Last week, the Prime Minister was returning to the UK from the G7 summit in Canada. This week, Starmer is attending a Nato summit at The Hague. Discussions have focused on the volatile situation between Israel and Iran, with leaders, including Starmer, urging diplomacy and the maintenance of a fragile ceasefire. Although the growing global unrest is likely to come up, opposition leaders are expected to focus on a growing Labour party rebellion over the welfare reform proposals. Last week, the UK Government published more details about its proposals. The Bill seeks reductions to the Universal Credit health top up for new claims from April 2026, and to scrap the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). There are plans to review PIP assessments and 'focus PIP on those with higher needs'. The Government tried to make some small concessions to appease unhappy Labour MPs, like ensuring that 200,000 people with the most severe and permanently disabling conditions' Universal Credit benefits would not be reassessed and promising a 13-week transition payment for people losing the daily living component of PIP. However, these clearly did not go far enough for some. On Tuesday, the names of more than 100 Labour MPs who signed an amendment to the welfare reform bill were revealed. Among the rebels are nine Scottish Labour MPs. The amendment essentially seeks to block the cuts to disability and sickness-related benefit payments. Starmer has already doubled down and vowed to press ahead with his Government's proposed welfare changes, despite the rebellion being large enough to wipe out Labour's working majority in Parliament. The Prime Minister will ultimately either be forced to concede and make changes to his welfare reform plans or rely on votes from opposition parties, like the Conservatives, to get the changes approved. Nonetheless, Rayner is likely to be challenged over the situation while she's filling in for Starmer on Wednesday. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The Herald Scotland
31 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Scotland must have a referendum on assisted dying
In a similar dynamic, it will soon become socially unacceptable to seek end of life care. That is what inevitably will happen. Everyone should seriously think about that. Is this what happens when politicians of a certain ideology gain control of the legislature? Was this proposal in any manifesto? Is the decision really democratic? Surely an issue of this nature and seriousness should have been subject to a much more rigorous test? A referendum on the issue should perhaps have been called so that the people can decide following full rigour and debate. Hopefully those who are for assisted suicide or are unsure could be persuaded in the right direction when all the ramifications are put before them. Once this issue comes back to Holyrood, can MSPs at least please consider a referendum in Scotland? Gerard Quinn, Bishopbriggs. Read more letters Why SNP could not favour Falkirk I note that the foreign owner of Alexander Dennis claims that the Scottish Government (SG) is not helping his business ("FM told he 'did nothing' over bus jobs", The Herald, June 20). This is despite the Scottish taxpayer having handed out £90 million worth of loans in order to assist him in that endeavour. He seems to think that the SG should go further and direct any orders for buses to his Falkirk base in order to keep it afloat. Unfortunately the SG is not a procuring agency. It merely provides finance for a net zero emissions bus fund from which the bus companies can draw money when ordering buses. Under Scottish Public Finance Manual rules the SG can provide the finance, but it cannot become involved in the actual procurement process. This is to avoid accusations of favouring one company over another for political reasons. Ministers can still say they would like to see a Scottish company get the order, but they can't get involved in that decision. By contrast Manchester City Council runs its own buses and as such it is therefore free to choose where to place any bus orders. Indeed Andy Burnham's administration ordered 116 buses from China before opting to add a further 160 from Falkirk. That's somewhat surprising given that Mr Burnham was claiming to be a strong supporter of the Falkirk plant only last week. You could argue that the SG could simply make it a stipulation to buy Scottish as a condition of any funding provision. But that would have put it in breach of both the UK Internal Market and the World Trade Organisation rules which prohibit discriminating on the grounds of nationality when awarding a contract which has public funding. In any case most bus companies in Scotland are privately owned. As such they have a legal duty to their shareholders to procure buses in a way that benefits the former rather than politicians. Lothian Buses is one exception as it is publicly owned. However when it buys buses it is governed by local authority "best value" rules which means it is obliged to buy from the company which represents best value for the local taxpayer. These rules were first set out in the 2003 Scottish Local Government Act which was enacted by a Scottish Labour First Minister. It's somewhat ironic therefore to find Anas Sarwar now demanding that the SG find a means to bypass the very rules that his own party introduced. Robert Menzies, Falkirk. Excluding pupils the best option Rebecca McQuillan reports that the NASUWT welcomes Scottish Government guidance on behaviour in schools, since this prescribes "an escalating set of consequences including things like detention and, when absolutely necessary, exclusion" ("If Scots classrooms are in chaos, teachers need the option of excluding worst-behaved pupils", The Herald, June 19.) I remember when in Rothesay Academy in the late 1970s, a girl who was guilty of persistent truancy had to suffer an escalating set of consequences. First she had to write "lines". ("Ah quite like dain' them.") Then came detention, which no doubt prevented her from playing solo flute at the chamber orchestra rehearsals. These measures having failed to affect any improvement in behaviour, she was finally excluded from school. I'll bet that made her think twice about playing truant again. Robin Dow, Rothesay. Fergus Ewing (Image: PA) An example for Fergus Ewing I refer to the plans of Fergus Ewing to run as an independent candidate for Inverness and Nairn at the next elections for Holyrood ("Veteran MSP Ewing makes Branchform jibe at SNP after independent election bid", The Herald June 23). He has felt that at times he has not been able to balance the needs of his constituents with those of the SNP. I would take this opportunity to wish him the same success as The Herald's occasional correspondent Dennis Canavan with regard to standing as an independent for the Scottish Parliament. Mr Canavan was of course an MP from 1974 to 1999. He was rejected as an official Labour candidate for the 1999 elections to Holyrood. However, undaunted, he stood as an independent and was as a result expelled from the Labour Party. He secured almost 55% of the vote in the 1999 election, the highest of any MSP in that election. He retired as an MSP before the 2007 elections. Mr Canavan served his constituents well and their esteem was clearly confirmed when he chose to stand as an independent. I believe that Fergus Ewing will succeed with his intention of being elected as an independent. The Scottish Parliament would be a lesser place without him. I have no doubt he applied his mind to what his mum might have thought. Ian W Thomson, Lenzie.
The National
35 minutes ago
- The National
MPs slam failure to recover £1.9bn Covid loan fraud
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) criticised the lack of incentive for lenders to claim back the funds, with an estimated £1.9 billion in suspected fraudulent loans highlighting a significant gap in the programme's oversight. Introduced in the early days of the pandemic, the scheme was created to provide financial assistance for businesses facing the impact of forced closures during lockdown. READ MORE: Scottish Labour 'playing politics' ahead of final vote on education reforms, say SNP Standard credit and affordability checks were waived so companies could have instant access to loans of up to £50,000. While the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has acknowledged the estimated £1.9bn in fraudulent losses, it's thought that the figure could increase due to the number of counterfeit claims yet to be identified. Approximately £130 million has been recovered so far, though the DBT has admitted it cannot determine how much is linked to fraud. The PAC's comments highlight concerns about the large amounts of public money lost through false claims and a lack of action from the Government in holding people to account. The Government had guaranteed it would cover losses incurred by lenders on payments which couldn't be repaid when the scheme began, though it has now withdrawn its backing on £357 million worth of loans where it felt lenders had not done everything possible to recover the funds. Banks will now foot the bill, rather than taxpayers, and earlier this month Starling Bank announced it had agreed to remove the Government guarantee on groups of loans which had potential issues – leading the bank to put aside roughly £28 million. The PAC, however, has said this broader guarantee has led to reduced incentive to recover taxpayer's money lost through fraudulent claims. READ MORE: EU, taxes, and Labour 'out of step': What we learned in John Curtice's polling report Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chairman of the committee, said: 'DBT were unable to tell us if even the tiny fraction of that sum recovered was in fact even related to fraud. 'Indeed, relying on government-backed lenders to recover losses, who thus lack any incentive to pursue lost funds, has been a dangerously flat-footed approach. 'Now that the Insolvency Service has taken over responsibility for viable cases, we look forward to hearing how it fares where others have failed.' A DBT spokesperson told The National: 'We will always protect taxpayers' interests, which is why we appointed a Covid Counter-Fraud Commissioner to scrutinise Covid spending and why we will be transferring all ongoing viable cases to the Insolvency Service over the coming months following our review of NATIS's performance. 'We will consider the Committee's recommendations and continue to work across Government, law enforcement and commercial leaders to identify and tackle fraud in relation to the Covid debt schemes.'
