MSPs now asked to provide sex and trans status after data removed from Scottish parliament website
The Scottish parliament removed equality data from its website following the election of two MSPs - but is now working to restore the information
The Scottish parliament has asked MSPs to provide new equality data after a row sparked by the removal of sex from its website listings.
After the election of two non-binary politicians, the parliament removed the male and female category from its online search function.
A letter sent to all parliamentarians on Monday night says dats was available on the website “before it had been confirmed directly by individual MSPs”.
MSPs have now been given until June 5 to complete a survey giving their sex and trans status, should they choose to.
Lorna Hunter, the parliament’s Director of People, Communications and Inclusion, says in the letter: “The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) is committed to ensuring that information published about the diversity of MSPs is handled with care and sensitivity, and presented as accurately and transparently as possible.
“Following the election, some information was made available online before it had been confirmed directly by individual MSPs.
“Once identified, it was removed from the Parliament’s website.”
The SPCB has now introduced what it calls “an additional confirmation step” to confirm equality data directly with MSPs.
Ms Hunter goes on to say: “The survey will also support implementation of recommendations arising from the Parliament’s Gender Sensitive Audit.”
Members of the public were able to search for elected members by various categories, including “gender”.
The options were changed to include a third category to accommodate new Scottish Greens MSP Q Manivannan, who identifies as non-binary.
Meanwhile, Manivannan’s Scottish Greens colleague Iris Duane, who identifies as a trans woman, was listed as female.
Following complaints, the entire “gender” category was removed from the official Holyrood website - erasing all historic and current information about gender balance in the parliament.
Ms Hunter’s letter to MSPs says: “Processing data on your sex and, where appropriate, trans status provides accurate and transparent information on the demographical composition of parliament.
“The public has a legitimate interest in understanding the sex and trans status of their elected representatives.”
She adds that collecting the data also allows the parliament to “identify longitudinal trends”.
“This allows progress, or stagnation and fallback, to be monitored over time, providing transparency and an evidence base to show whether further reforms and interventions are needed,” Ms Hunter adds.
MSPs are also given the option to refuse to allow their equality data to be published.
In 2024, the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland vs the Scottish Ministers ruled that “sex” - “male” and “female” - must refer to biological sex.
The parliament initially changed the “gender” category to include male, female or non-binary before removing the section altogether.
The Scottish Greens were approached but declined to comment.
Holyrood has consistently struggled to reach gender parity among MSPs, with the number of women MSPs falling for this parliament.
This year 55 women and 74 men were elected to Holyrood, representing a drop from 45 per cent to 42.6 per cent.
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