THE UK Government’s threat to take an unprecedented step to block gender reform legislation in Scotland is more to do with culture wars than legal concerns, an expert has suggested.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack (inset) said the use of a Section 35 order is being considered after Holyrood passed the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Act before Christmas, over concerns about its impact on UK laws such as the Equality Act.
The mechanism contained in the Scotland Act has never been used before, but it allows the UK Government to block bills passed by the Scottish Parliament from gaining Royal Assent for reasons including if it would have an “adverse effect on the operation of law as it applies to reserved matters.”
