Legal Advice for the Welsh Government

Part of 2. Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution – in the Senedd at 2:54 pm on 1 March 2023.

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Photo of Janet Finch-Saunders Janet Finch-Saunders Conservative 2:54, 1 March 2023

Thank you. I refer to comments made by both the First Minister and the finance Minister in relation to the UK Government's use of a section 35 Order to protect the Equality Act 2010 from the SNP's Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. The finance Minister has repeated Nicola Sturgeon's false claims that those who criticise self-ID at 16 are somehow using transgender people as a wedge issue. So, I do hope now, in light of the resignation—and many believe that this issue encompassed Nicola Sturgeon—it will make your own Government think again. Of course, members of the transgender community should be treated with the utmost respect at all times. It simply isn't good enough, though, to shut down free debate regarding self-ID laws for children as young as 16 by labelling anyone critical of these proposals as fighting a so-called culture war. This isn't a partisan point. Labour MPs, such as Rosie Duffield, have already been clear about the risks to women's safety, as has Gower's Welsh Labour MP, Tonia Antoniazzi, and they have said that the UK Government's intervention was necessary. Therefore, Counsel General, do you agree with the comments made by these members of your party, and will you commit to ensuring that the Welsh Government upholds the protections for women set out under the Equality Act 2010? Diolch.