UK Supreme Court Judgment (For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers): working group minutes: 23 October 2025

Attendees and apologies

• Deputy Director, DG Corporate 
• Director General, DG Communities
• Communications Manager, DG Corporate
• Director, Scottish Prison Service
• Deputy Director, DG Corporate
• Director, DG Economy
• Unit Head, DG Education & Justice 
• Director, DG Communities
• Deputy Director, DG Communities
• Director, DG Corporate
• Deputy Director, DG Health and Social Care
• Deputy Director, DG Communities
• Unit Head, DG Communities
• Deputy Director, Social Security Scotland
• Unit Head, DG Corporate
• Unit Head, DG Exchequer 
• Unit Head, DG Education and Justice
• Deputy Director, DG Education 
• Unit Head, DG Education and Justice
• Unit Head, DG Net Zero
• Unit Head, DG Communities
• Director, DG Health and Social Care 
• Director, DG Communities
• Deputy Director, DG Corporate
• Director, DG Education and Justice 
• Unit Head, DG Net Zero
• Unit Head, DG Corporate
• Director General, DG Education and Justice
• Unit Head, DG Health and Social Care

Items and actions

Introduction 

The chair welcomed members to the group.

Minutes 

Members approved the minutes from last meeting. 
Chair confirmed that minutes will be uploaded to the website. 

Update on legal issues 

An update was given on recent legal activity and next steps. 

EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) Code Of Practice 

EIHR (Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights) directorate provided an update on the draft Code Of Practice which UK Government shared with the Scottish Government, and the process for internal review. 
EIHR Directorate also provided an update regarding the letter sent by the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner to the UK Parliament regarding the Supreme Court Judgment. 

Update from DG areas 

High level updates from DG areas:

• Education
• Justice
• Health and Social Care
• Corporate
• Economy
• Communities
• Net Zero

Update from communications

 Communications colleagues provided an overview of upcoming work, including planning ahead for the publication of the updated Code Of Practice. 

Any other business and close 

Chair thanked members for their continued work and issued a reminder to continue updating Cabinet Secretaries on progress via the Director-General assurance process.