Meetings regarding age of obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate: FOI release

Information requested

Since 1 April 2020, have Scottish Government Ministers and/or officials met with the following organisations to discuss proposals to reduce the age at which an individual can obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate and the implications for the use of single sex spaces in schools?

1. Teaching trades unions
2. Children and Young People's Commissioner
3. National Parent Forum of Scotland
4. Charities representing the rights of children and young people in Scotland
5. Association of Directors of Education in Scotland
6. Connect Scotland
7. Representatives of CAMHS

Please provide details of when such meetings took place as well as minutes and notes taken.

Response

The consultation on the draft Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill closed on 17 March 2020. On 1 April 2020, the Minister for Parliamentary Business and Veterans announced the Government's plans for managing its legislative programme in light of the impacts of Covid-19 and work on the Bill paused at that time. In September 2021, the Scottish Government announced the intention to bring forward the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill in this Parliamentary Year.

Here is the information you requested;

Ministerial Meetings
Meeting date	Stakeholder	Information held
18 Nov 21	LGBTI Equality Groups Stonewall Scotland, Equality Network Scottish Trans LGBT Youth LGBT Health and Wellbeing	Requested 06 July Minutes of meetings - see document 1 attached
13 Dec 21	LGBT Youth	Requested 18 Nov Meeting proposed by LGBT Youth during initial Ministerial meeting of 18 Nov 21 Minutes of meeting - see document 2 attached

 

Officials Meetings
Meeting date	Stakeholder	Information Held
24 Sept 21	Children and Young People’s Commissioner	Phone call arranged by CYPC Office. No notes or minutes held
17 Nov 21	LGBT Youth	No notes or minutes held
07 Dec 21	LGBT Stakeholders Stonewall Scotland, Equality Network Scottish Trans LGBT Youth	No notes or minutes held

One further meeting with LGBT youth has taken place but has not been included as this does not fall within the scope of your request.

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested, because it is personal data of a third party, in that it consists of personal information that may identify an individual and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption".

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI - 202200269367 - Information Released - Annex

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