Holyrood bosses 'will not police' trans toilet ruling, MSPs told

Christine Grahame, speaking on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB), said it would not monitor the use of facilities.

She made the comments after being asked to promise that no one would be required to provide a birth certificate or other paperwork.

The cross-party SPCB previously said the permitted use of “all facilities designated as male or female” at Holyrood will be based on “biological sex” following a landmark Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman under equality laws.

Additional toilets have been declared gender-neutral. However, 17 MSPs and more than 30 staff members have since signed an open letter expressing “deep concern” over the move.

Ms Grahame, a veteran SNP MSP, said the SPCB was committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment, balancing the needs and requirements of everyone.

But Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Greens co-leader, said the decision was already having an impact “on those who are being told they are no longer permitted to use basic facilities like toilets on the same basis as everyone else, and who now feel unwelcome and demeaned in their own workplace”.

Ms Grahame said the SPCB had acted in a “tolerant and sensitive” manner. She stressed it was an interim decision to comply with the Supreme Court ruling, and a full consultation would be held.

Mr Harvie asked the SPCB to promise that nobody would be required to provide birth certificates or other paperwork “merely because someone intolerant suspects them of being transgender”.

Ms Grahame said facilities are made available “in the expectation that people choose a facility respecting what we have done to balance different rights in line with our legal responsibilities”.

She added: “Like other public sector bodies - and I can assure them, this is not going to be policed by the corporate body - but like other sector bodies, we have a complaints process which staff can advise on, which is also set out on our website for those who wish to complain and which we will consider. But we are certainly not monitoring the use of public facilities as a corporate body.”

The Scottish Trans and Equality Network previously called the decision “rushed, unworkable and exclusionary”. SNP MSP Emma Roddick said it potentially placed trans staff in a “hostile working environment”.

An update from the Equality and Human Rights Commission issued after the Supreme Court ruling stated that in workplaces which are open to the public, trans people should not be permitted to use facilities which correspond with their identified gender.

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: “People across Scotland will be astonished that SNP, Labour, Green and Lib Dem politicians staged an urgent debate about the Holyrood toilets.

“This farcical waste of time confirms how out of touch these left-wing parties are from the concerns of people in the real world.

“This parliamentary time could have been spent discussing falling education standards, a lack of GP appointments, pot-holed roads, rising household bills or violence on our streets.

“The Supreme Court ruling is clear. These politicians need to accept that, move on and focus on the many serious issues facing Scotland.”