THE Education Secretary has accused a Tory MSP of being “misguided” over guidance for schools with transgender pupils as the pair clashed in the Holyrood chamber.
Pam Gosal raised an urgent question in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday afternoon, asking ministers “who it consulted” before producing the updated guidance.
The guidance, published on Monday, was updated in light of the Supreme Court ruling in April. It states that facilities in Scottish schools, such as bathrooms and changing rooms, must be provided on the basis of biological sex.
The Scottish Government has been criticised by FWS and other gender-critical campaign groups for not implementing changes fast enough following the Supreme Court ruling, particularly in schools and prisons.
In Holyrood , Gosal insisted that the guidance instead of giving clarity “confused matters further”, after Gilruth said that the rules were not compulsory in a broadcast interview. She pressed the Education Secretary on whether “biological males who identify as women still use girls toilets under this guidance”.
Gilruth replied that the Scottish Government had accepted the Supreme Court ruling and that under regulations bathrooms were already “provided for both boys and girls”. “I do think more broadly the rights of all children and young people must be respected in our schools,” the Education Secretary said.
“It's also important to remember that transgender people represent 0.44% of the whole population in Scotland, and evidence also tells us that transgender young people have significantly worse educational and wellbeing outcomes than other pupils.
“They are much more at risk of bullying, and they are more likely to leave education early and are at risk of increased mental health and wellbeing concerns.”
Gosal replied: “All I needed was a yes or no, but obviously I didn't get that.”
The Scottish Tory MSP then said it was “disturbing” that the guidance had been developed by LGBT Youth Scotland, adding: “This taxpayer-funded lobbying group previously produced guidance that suggested there was no such thing as biological sex.
“It was widely criticized by child health experts, including one who said that guidance simply should not be accessible to our school children.
“So, Cabinet Secretary, why on earth is this SNP government still taking its cue from an extreme gender ideology lobbying group instead of the Supreme Court?”
Gilruth said: “I think she's somewhat misguided in relation to the point she'd made about stakeholder engagement.”
The Education Secretary explained that following the Supreme Court judgment, officials engaged with trade unions and Cosla , the local government umbrella body.
Gilruth added that stakeholders, such as Stonewall Scotland and the Scottish Transgender Alliance, were consulted in 2021 when the guidance was initially drafted.
“The update that I provided for yesterday is a technical change, and it relates directly to, of course, recent legal changes that have come forward,” she said. “We have updated the guidance in accordance with those legal changes.”
Scottish Greens MSP Patrick Harvie asked Gilruth what input young transgender Scots, and organisations which represent them, had on the change in guidance.
She replied: “We will continue to engage with a range of organisations, including the ones that Mr Harvie has alluded to today. It's really important that the Government listens to the views of young people on these issues directly.”
Douglas Ross again asked Gilruth if under the guidance a “biological male [could] use a female, single sex only toilet in a Scottish school”.
Gilruth replied: “I think I alluded to in our response to the member's colleague, in Scotland, all schools are required to provide separate toilets for girls and for boys, that’s stipulated in law.
“In addition, the guidance also makes clear that councils should give careful consideration to the individual needs of transgender pupils in light of the school context and in light of their school communities.”
