Latest news with #LesleySawers
Scotsman
a day ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
How Scottish schools are stalling over single-sex toilets despite Supreme Court ruling
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... It seems there is a large swathe of Scottish civil society that is unable, or unwilling, to accept that the Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. It is the final court of appeal for civil cases in the UK and its word is the law. The judgment on sex and gender, passed down nearly three months ago on April 16, could not be clearer – the terms 'man', 'woman' and 'sex' in the 2010 Equality Act refer to biological sex. Every organisation in Britain, from devolved governments to schools, was advised to revisit their equalities policies in light of the judgment, but it seems the Church of Scotland, and now Edinburgh City Council, know better. Earlier this week, the Kirk had to admit it was wrong to insist that biological men could still share female lavatories with girls, based on the partisan and erroneous advice of an LGBT charity and a London-based lawyer. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A concerned mother from Fife had complained that her 11-year-old daughter had to share the female toilets at a church-run community centre with a biological male, only to be told by church officials that it was 'lawful and often appropriate' for 'women-only spaces to include trans women'. On Monday night, the church backtracked, saying it 'supported the right' of women and girls to access single-sex spaces, and suggested trans people should be provided with gender-neutral facilities. Members of For Women Scotland celebrate the Supreme Court ruling that the word 'woman' the 2010 Equality Act refers to a biological woman (Picture: Lucy North) | PA 'Widespread misinformation' On Tuesday, the Prime Minister no less, took time away from his troubles to say that he not only accepted the Supreme Court's ruling, he welcomed it, and he insisted that all public bodies must comply with it. 'All guidance of whatever kind needs to be consistent with the ruling and we need to get to that position as soon as possible,' he said. Dr Lesley Sawers, of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), followed up with a warning to the Scottish Government and other public service providers that they had a responsibility to ensure compliance with equalities law and that the current 'climate of uncertainty and widespread misinformation serves nobody'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And yet teenage girls in at least one of Edinburgh's secondary schools are still being forced to share toilet facilities with their male peers. Pupils at James Gillespie's High School in Marchmont have to share a mixed-sex toilet block, with cubicles arranged facing each other in an open plan space. Parents tell of their daughters waiting until they get home before using the bathroom to avoid the embarrassment of sharing an intimate space with boys. A promise made last year by the headteacher to build privacy walls to separate the toilets has yet to be fulfilled. In his latest report to the school's parent council, dated June 4, he agreed that 'more work needs to be done regarding toilets' but insisted it will take a 'whole school approach to try and minimise the challenges we have in these areas'. He added: 'We are still pursuing the installation of privacy walls beside the toilets as shared previously.' While he and his team 'pursue' the building of a couple of walls, a QR code has been displayed in the toilets so that pupils can report any incidents of bullying – a move which I am sure is of great comfort to any girl who has to deal with menstruation with only a flimsy door, which doesn't even reach to the ceiling, separating her from a crowd of teenage boys. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Edinburgh to ignore Court of Session? But surely Edinburgh City Council, responsible for the management of the city's schools, has updated its advice to schools following the Supreme Court ruling? It may have ignored the Court of Session's landmark ruling, also in April, regarding Borders Council – when the court decreed that all Scottish schools must provide single-sex toilets, based on regulations passed nearly 50 years ago – but not even Edinburgh is going to ignore the highest court in the land, is it? It appears it might. Earlier this week, a council spokesperson said: 'We're continuing to consider the implications of the Supreme Court judgment and the Court of Session declarator, along with the interim update on the practical implications issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. We look forward to receiving the updated code of practice from EHRC and UK Government which will inform what changes, if any, we need to make to council facilities, policies and procedures.' What part of the law does the city council not understand? The 1967 School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations state that '… in every school which is not designed exclusively for girls half the accommodation [number of toilets] shall be for boys'. Or are council officials confused by the Court of Session's ruling that mixed-sex schools must have single-sex toilets? Could it be the city council, like the Church of Scotland, prefers to heed the advice of partisan campaigners rather than the law of the land? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Couldn't be clearer' A spokesperson for campaign group For Women Scotland, who took the historic case to the Supreme Court, was baffled by the council's response. She said: 'We are bewildered that schools are struggling with the implications of the Supreme Court ruling – and also the judicial review regarding Borders Council. 'It couldn't be clearer: schools must act now to protect children and ensure safeguards are robust. We have been telling schools in Edinburgh, including Gillespie's, that they must act for months now. Waiting for the EHRC's code of practice won't change a thing and it is unconscionable that, in the interim, girls are needlessly being exposed to harm.'
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish Government warned over single-sex toilet policy
In a formal legal letter sent on Wednesday, the organisation said ministers must urgently rewrite internal guidance on single-sex facilities to bring it into line with a recent Supreme Court judgment on biological sex. READ MORE The warning centres on the Scottish Government estate — made up of 66 sites and 1,016 toilet facilities — where existing policy allows staff to use facilities based on self-identified gender rather than biological sex. Around 18% of the facilities are gender-neutral single-user 'superloos', while the rest are designated as either male or female. There are also numerous smaller sites — including fisheries and field-monitoring offices — where facilities may be shared or gender-neutral. In April, the UK's highest court ruled unanimously that a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) does not alter a person's sex for the purposes of the Equality Act. The judgment clarified that the terms 'man' and 'woman' in the legislation refer to biological sex, not acquired gender. That ruling meant every organisation in the country needed to review their equality policies. The Supreme Court ruled that sex in the Equality Act means biological sexWhile First Minister John Swinney initially welcomed the 'clarity' provided by the ruling, the Scottish Government has said it is waiting for further guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission before issuing new advice to Scotland's public sector — including prisons, schools and the NHS. However, earlier this week, Dr Lesley Sawers, Deputy Chair and Scotland Commissioner for the EHRC, told The Herald that Scottish ministers had 'a responsibility to ensure their adherence to the Public Sector Equality Duty' — the legal requirement for public authorities in Scotland to consider protected characteristics, including biological sex, when carrying out their functions. In response, a spokesperson said work was 'proceeding at pace to implement the ruling across Government'. The Scottish Government's trans inclusion policy, signed off in January, states that 'staff should choose to use the facilities they feel most comfortable with' and that a GRC is not required to access single-sex spaces. In a letter to John Somers, Director of Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights, Maya Forstater, Chief Executive of Sex Matters, said the policy was 'clearly unlawful'. She added: 'The problem is not lack of infrastructure, but that the Scottish Government continues to operate an unlawful policy. 'As far as we can see, there is nothing to stop the Scottish Government immediately bringing the policy on toilets into line with the law, by making a statement that all facilities designated as male or female within the Scottish Government estate are to be interpreted as meaning biological sex, and that gender-neutral options are widely available. This would be in line with the Supreme Court judgment and the action taken by the Scottish Parliament. 'It is clearly a reasonably practical step in order to address the risk of individuals using opposite-sex toilets and other facilities. 'Please confirm, therefore, that you will take this step within seven days of the date of this letter. 'To the extent that the Scottish Government does not immediately stop the unlawful practices set out in this letter we may decide to commence proceedings without further warning.' The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require separate changing and toilet facilities for men and women 'where necessary for reasons of propriety'. Failure to provide such facilities, or to protect staff from discomfort or distress in those spaces, may also amount to unlawful harassment under the Equality Act. The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
EHRC warns SNP ministers over sex definition ruling
She warned that the current 'climate of uncertainty and widespread misinformation serves nobody'. READ MORE: In April, the UK's highest court ruled unanimously that a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) does not alter a person's sex for the purposes of the Equality Act. The judgment clarified that the terms 'man' and 'woman' in the legislation refer to biological sex, not acquired gender. That ruling meant every organisation in the country needed to review their equality policies. The EHRC issued interim guidance in May related to trans people's use of single-sex facilities. It also launched a consultation on changes to parts of its code of practice for services, public functions and associations, which closed yesterday. The updated code is due to be published later this year. While First Minister John Swinney initially welcomed the 'clarity' provided by the ruling, the Scottish Government has repeatedly said it is waiting for this further guidance before issuing new advice of its own to Scotland's public sector — including prisons, schools and the NHS. Dr Lesley Sawers said the law has been in effect since the ruling (Jamie Simpson/NQ)Dr Sawers said the Government should already be following the law: 'We appreciate there is an urgent need for clarity, as a climate of uncertainty and widespread misinformation serves nobody – particularly those with protected characteristics. 'But as we emphasised to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care when we met with them on June 10, duty-bearers are responsible for their own compliance with the Equality Act. 'Our Code of Practice will help them to navigate this complex area of law, but it will not provide bespoke examples of every circumstance they might encounter. 'The law, as set out in the Supreme Court's clear judgment, has been in effect since it was handed down on April 16. 'Service providers and public bodies should in any event be following the law while they wait for our statutory guidance, as it will not cover every eventuality. 'We have urged relevant bodies to seek their own legal advice where necessary, to inform decisions about what changes they need to make now to their existing policies and practices. 'Public sector bodies have particular duties to assess how their policies and practices affect people with protected characteristics, and we reminded the Cabinet Secretaries that Scottish ministers have a responsibility to ensure their adherence to the Public Sector Equality Duty.' The intervention follows a row over claims the Scottish Government 'misrepresented' private conversations with the EHRC. Last month, senior civil servants told For Women Scotland (FWS) that the Commission had advised ministers to wait for the final Code of Practice before making changes and to 'not do anything in advance of that'. The comments earned a stinging rebuke from Baroness Kishwer Falkner, the Chair of the EHRC, who told FWS the Commission had made it 'clear' to civil servants that public bodies should not wait for updated guidance before acting on the judgment. The peer said she was 'very concerned that our conversations with officials appear to have been misrepresented'. When campaigners wrote to the Scottish Government's Permanent Secretary Joe Griffin calling for a full investigation, saying it was 'extremely concerning that statements made by a senior government official to a third party about EHRC advice have been directly contested by the regulatory body itself', he replied to say his team would 'revert in due course' with a fuller response. He later said the Government accepted the Supreme Court's judgment and 'acknowledges the EHRC statement that 'duty-bearers should not wait for our statutory Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations to be in place to review their policies to ensure they are complying with the law as now settled by the Supreme Court'.' However, FWS questioned the use of the word 'review', pointing out that the EHRC had told them duty-bearers 'should not wait for our guidance but should be seeking to update their policies and practices in the light of the new understanding of the law, taking their own specialist legal advice where necessary'. The Scottish Government told The Herald the Permanent Secretary 'was quoting from correspondence between the EHRC and the Scottish Government'. When The Herald then approached the EHRC, the regulator released the statement from Dr Sawers. Trina Budge from FWS welcomed the EHRC's interventionTrina Budge from FWS said: 'We, along with the equalities regulator it seems, are fast running out of patience with the Scottish Government's incompetence and refusal to comply with the law. 'Once again, it has been made abundantly clear, including to multiple Cabinet Secretaries, that they must take action now to update policies in line with the April 16 court ruling. 'Women fought hard for our rights to be respected and this extended period of bickering and dithering by the Government is more akin to a public toddler tantrum than a sign of responsible legislators. It is nothing short of shameful. 'They need to step up and sort it out sharpish before vulnerable women and girls suffer any more harm.' Scottish Conservative Shadow Minister for Equalities, Tess White said: 'This is effectively telling SNP ministers, no more excuses. 'The Supreme Court's verdict was delivered over two months ago yet John Swinney and his colleagues are still dragging their heels on telling public bodies in Scotland to comply with the law. 'It is time for them to do the right thing and show some common-sense, rather than thinking they can continue kicking this issue into the long grass. 'The latest intervention from the EHRC would not have been needed if SNP ministers had acted immediately in light of the ruling in April and they must now finally act upon what they are ordering them to do.' READ MORE: The row comes as Sir Keir Starmer said hospitals and government departments needed to implement the Supreme Court ruling 'as soon as possible'. The Prime Minister told reporters he 'accepted the ruling; welcomed the ruling, and everything else flows from that as far as I'm concerned'. He said: 'All guidance of whatever kind needs to be consistent with the ruling and we need to get to that position as soon as possible.' Maya Forstater, the chief executive of Sex Matters, said: 'This is an important intervention from the Prime Minister, given the huge number of public bodies failing to implement the Supreme Court judgment and operating outside the law. 'Political leadership is essential if women whose rights are being stolen are not to be forced to turn to the courts, where public bodies will end up losing, at great expense to taxpayers. 'It's no coincidence that the private sector has been faster to bring their policies in line with the judgment, recognising what is at stake for the bottom line. Meanwhile most NHS, university and civil service leaders are sitting on their hands. 'The law is clear and there is no need to wait for further guidance from the EHRC or anyone else. Unlike the small businesses and services for which the regulator's guidance is intended, public sector organisations have access to specialist legal advice, as well as extra statutory obligations under the public sector equality duty.' The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.
