Gender Recognition Reform Bill

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:11 pm on 10 January 2023.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:11, 10 January 2023

I entirely agree with what Ken Skates has said. This has been a deeply polarising debate. The proper role for elected politicians, I believe, is to promote dialogue, rather than to seek to deepen conflict. I was surprised by the UK Government's reaction. They are threatening to use a power that has never been used in the whole history of devolution. They appear to say that they will not accept a gender recognition certificate obtained in Scotland, when they already recognise such certificates that are obtained in Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, New Zealand, and Switzerland. A number of those countries use the same self-declaration process to be used in Scotland. When we have a system that recognises certificates from other parts of the world, it seems very odd indeed that the UK Government is not prepared to recognise a certificate that is created in another part of the United Kingdom. I will say this to be absolutely clear, Llywydd: if anybody obtains a gender recognition certificate in Scotland and then comes to Wales, that certificate will be recognised here for all the purposes that you would expect it to be recognised for.