Chamber and committees

We have received some written evidence from Close the Gap, and other committees that I sit on have taken evidence from it in person, on the specific experiences of women who are experiencing significant debt for all the reasons that I know many of us understand. In particular, Close the Gap has highlighted the significant debt that is experienced by disabled women, black and minority ethnic women and, in particular, lone parent families. Will CPAG and Aberlour comment on what we could do in Scotland with the powers that we have to try to target resources to those groups?

Good morning. Thank you for the information that you provided in advance and for answering our questions today. I want to ask about the change in your view before I move on to the interactions between the GRA and the Equality Act 2010.

Have you explained your change in position to trans people? Can you set out the legal considerations that you used in doing that?

Yes—thank you. Would it be okay to ask about international evidence on this issue, convener?

That is really helpful.

I will move on to a question about procedures. The submissions from Stonewall and the Equality Network note concerns that section 8U(1)(c) allows for the registrar general, by regulations, to make provision for or about

“information or evidence to be included in an application”.

Could you tell us more about your concern? Should that provision be in primary legislation? I find it odd that it is to be in regulations. What should we do about that concern?

Can you say something about some of the legal considerations that you used in changing your view?

Thank you. Colin Macfarlane, do you have anything to add?

If that is okay, convener.

I am keen to know what the Equality and Human Rights Commission has learned from similar organisations in other countries where self-declaration has already happened. In some cases, that has been the case for a number of years. What can you tell us about the use of self-ID internationally—or anything else—that you have learned from your work with partners? Do you have evidence that you can share with us now that can speak to the impact of self-declaration on trans people, and the impact of self-declaration on women?

In all that work, have you got any evidence of abuse of the self-ID system?

In looking at those broader implications, would you say that you have not found any evidence of a negative impact?

I have one more question on this area. I will keep the international question for later.

In your evidence, you have set out why you support change, and you note that just now, trans people can, without a gender recognition certificate, socially transition. Can you set out what difference it makes for a trans person to have a gender recognition certificate, what rights it would secure that the trans person otherwise would not have, and why those are important?