UK Supreme Court Judgment (For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers): working group minutes: 9 October 2025

Attendees and apologies

• Director, DG Communities
• Deputy Director, DG Communities
• Deputy Director, DG Corporate
• Director for Engagement and Change, Scottish Prison Service
• DG Education and Justice 
• Deputy Director, Social Security Scotland
• Unit Head, DG Communities
• Head, DG Health and Social Care
• Deputy Director, DG Economy
• Unit Head, DG Communities 
• Director, DG Health and Social Care 
• Deputy Director, DG Education and Justice
• Deputy Director, DG Net Zero
• Team Lead, DG Corporate 
• Unit Head, DG Corporate 
• Communications Manager, DG Corporate
• Director, DG Corporate
• Unit Head, DG Education and Justice
• Director, DG Communities
• Communications Manager, DG Corporate
   

Items and actions

Introduction 

The Chair welcomed members to the meeting and introduced new members to the group from the Scottish Prison Service. 

Minutes 

Members agreed the minutes from the previous meeting.  

Actions 

The Chair provided updates on actions from the last meeting which had been progressed. 
This included a letter being issued to the EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) which provided an overview of the work of the Group. 
The chair also updated members that Scottish Government should shortly be receiving a copy of the updated draft Code Of Practice which has now been passed to UK Government. 

Update on legal issues

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

Guidance updates 

Updates to Education and Corporate guidance were discussed, along with next steps.  

Social Security spotlight 

Colleagues from Social Security Scotland provided an overview of the work they had undertaken to date following the judgment. 

Update from DG areas 

DG Communities, Justice, Education, Net Zero and Economy confirmed they had no additional updates.

DG Health provided an update on their current position including key issues. 

Update from communications

Communications colleagues reflected on the work that had been undertaken ahead of the updates to Corporate and Education guidance. 
An overview of upcoming work was given, including planning ahead for the publication of the updated code of practice. 

Any other business and close 

The Chair brought the meeting to a close and asked members to ensure documentation was kept up to date and communication with Public Bodies continued.