Guidance to public bodies on implementation of Supreme Court judgement: FOI release

Information requested

• Confirmation of whether the Scottish Government's working group on the UK Supreme Court Judgement v The Scottish Ministers has provided guidance to all public bodies on the implementation of the judgement.
• The total cost of the operation of the group to the Scottish Government.
• A copy of any correspondence sent to the First Minister from the Group within the last three months.
• Confirmation of what further work the group is planning to undertake.

Response

Confirmation of whether the Scottish Government's working group on the UK Supreme Court Judgement v The Scottish Ministers has provided guidance to all public bodies on the implementation of the judgement?

Public bodies, as employers and service providers, are responsible for ensuring that they comply with all relevant legal obligations. Following the UK Supreme Court’s judgment, this duty includes compliance with the Equality Act 2010. It is for each organisation to ensure that its policies and practices are legally compliant, and for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the regulator of the Act, to oversee and enforce compliance. The EHRC also provide guidance to public authorities giving them information they need to understand the Act, exercise their rights, and meet their responsibilities.

The Scottish Government - as both an organisation and an employer - must also ensure full compliance with the Supreme Court judgment. The Supreme Court Working Group continues to coordinate and drive the programme of work required as a consequence of the judgment, including the updating of relevant legislation, guidance, and internal policies. Actions delivered by the group are published on the Scottish Government website - UK Supreme Court Judgment (For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers): working group - gov.scot

The Supreme Court Working Group has not directly provided guidance to public bodies on the implementation of the Supreme Court Judgement. Responsibility for progressing related work rests with individual Director Generals within their respective portfolios, as set out in the published Terms of Reference: UK Supreme Court Judgement (For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers) working group: terms of reference - gov.scot. As such, there was no material in scope for this question.

The Scottish Government did however publish an update note to Scottish public bodies on steps we are taking following the UK Supreme Court judgement which was published on 28 May 2025 and can be found here: UK Supreme Court ruling on meaning of sex in Equality Act: update - gov.scot.

On 30 September 2025, the Director of Health Workforce also wrote to NHS Scotland Health Boards to reinforce the importance of complying with the Supreme Court Judgment. This letter was released under a previous FOI and can be found here: Letter from Director of Health Workforce issued to NHS Scotland Health Boards: FOI release - gov.scot.

The total cost of the operation of the group to the Scottish Government?

None.

A copy of any correspondence sent to the First Minister from the Group within the last three months?

None.

Confirmation of what further work the group is planning to undertake?

Further detail on the scope and purpose of the group is detailed within the recently published Terms of Reference.

Exemptions

An exemption under section 25 of the (FOISA) exempts information from disclosure where the requester can reasonably obtain the information without asking for it under FOISA. It has a different focus from most other exemptions. It is not about withholding information from the public; it recognises that where information is already available, there is no need to provide an alternative right of access to it through FOISA. Where the exemption applies, authorities should tell the requester why they believe the information is available through other means. This will normally include telling the requester where they can obtain the information.

About FOI

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