Public bodies should wait for full EHRC guidance on single sex spaces – Swinney

Public bodies should wait for full guidance from the UK’s equality watchdog before making changes to policy on single sex spaces, Scotland’s First Minister has said.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issued interim guidance on Friday in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling that sex in the Equality Act refers to biological sex.

The body is expected to provide full guidance in the coming months on the implication of the ruling, but its release on Friday said trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use women’s facilities in areas such as hospitals, shops and restaurants.

But speaking at the STUC Congress in Dundee, John Swinney said public bodies should wait until the full guidance is issued by the EHCR before implementing changes.

I think organisations want to have legal certainty and they can only get legal certainty from the formal guidance that comes from the EHRC

“Public bodies have got to be mindful of the legal framework in which they operate and they’ve got to take into account the formal guidance that comes from the EHRC, which has been subject to consultation and ministerial approval and that’s essentially what we wait for,” he said.

“I think organisations want to have legal certainty and they can only get legal certainty from the formal guidance that comes from the EHRC.”

Mr Swinney’s comments come as he – along with his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – was urged to apologise by one of his own MSPs.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland on Monday morning, Michelle Thomson said: “In reality, let’s be clear: Keir Starmer should also be apologising, Nicola Sturgeon should also be apologising because people expect government to make clear policies that can be translated into law, and this has been quite a mess for some time, and has only been cleared up as a result of the ruling by the Supreme Court.”

Asked to respond to her comments, the First Minister said he had addressed calls for him to apologise last week.

The ruling has come in for criticism from some, with Green MSP Maggie Chapman hitting out at the Supreme Court, accusing judges of “bigotry, prejudice and hatred”.

Ms Chapman faces a vote on Tuesday on Holyrood’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee – on which she is the deputy convener – in an effort by the Scottish Tories to oust her.

Asked how the three SNP MSPs on the committee will vote on the issue, the First Minister said he was not aware, adding: “It would be wrong for me to intervene in the work of a committee by instructing them to do anything.”