6. What legal advice has the Counsel General provided to the Welsh Government regarding its policy on gender self-identification following the UK Government's decision to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill?  OQ59176

I will reiterate that this is a dangerous moment. The UK Government’s approach has set a worrying precedent. We will do everything we can to protect our devolution settlement, the laws passed by this Senedd, and we remain determined to support our transgender communities.  

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.

Well, thank you for your question. What I do, of course, and what my primary responsibility is is to uphold the constitution of this Senedd, the basis on which we were established and the powers and responsibilities that we have. And that's why my initial comments were concern about really what is an undermining of the constitutional principles on which decisions are taken on which legislation is passed.

Now, as you know, the legal position in Scotland is different to that in Wales. The powers available in Scotland are not currently devolved to Wales. Gender recognition is a reserved matter as far as Wales is concerned, but we've made it clear that we will seek these powers as set out in the programme for government. Legislative use of these powers would be a matter for this Senedd to determine, and were that to be achieved and were this Senedd to determine a position on that, I'm sure you, like me and everyone else in this Senedd, would respect the constitutional integrity of this place.