Hansard

Amendments 4 to 6 seek to replicate for the law of Scotland what was put in place for England and Wales at the end of last year and for Northern Ireland at the beginning of this year. The amendments make provision in Scots law about the continuity of civil partnerships from elsewhere after one of the partners has obtained gender recognition. I stress that, as is the case for the existing provisions in the bill that touch on gender recognition, the amendments do not constitute a change in policy on gender recognition. Rather, they reflect that civil partnership is no longer solely a same-sex relationship elsewhere and that it is appropriate for provision to be made in Scots law that reflects that in the context of gender recognition. At present, section 11D of the Gender Recognition Act 2004—the GRA—provides for the continuity of a Scottish civil partnership where both parties to the relationship acquire a legal change of gender on the same day. The reference to “both parties” reflects that civil partnership is currently a same-sex relationship and there is no recognition of a mixed-sex partnership. As a consequence of the introduction of mixed-sex civil partnership, paragraph 5(14) of schedule 2 of the bill makes provision on the continuity of a civil partnership formed in Scotland where just one party to the relationship acquires a legal change of gender. Paragraph 97 of the committee’s stage 1 report says: “The Committee welcomes the provision in Schedule 2, paragraph 5 of the Bill to the extent that it benefits transgender people who wish to remain in the formalised relationships they entered into prior to transition.” Section 11B of the GRA makes provision on the continuity of civil partnerships from elsewhere in the UK and from Northern Ireland. That section has already been amended by UK legislation to reflect the introduction of mixed-sex civil partnerships elsewhere in the UK, but the amendments by UK legislation do not extend to Scotland. Therefore, amendment 4 provides that civil partnerships from other parts of the UK and civil partnerships formed elsewhere that are recognised in Scotland can continue in Scots law if one party to the relationship obtains a legal change of gender. Amendments 5 and 6 are consequential. Amendment 6 adds a definition of “protected civil partnership” into the GRA. That is defined as meaning “a civil partnership under the law of England and Wales or under the law of Northern Ireland, or ... an overseas relationship that is treated as a civil partnership”. Amendment 6 also adds a definition of “protected overseas relationship” to the GRA. That is a “protected civil partnership” from overseas. Both terms are used in amendment 4. Amendment 5 is simply a formatting change that is linked to amendment 6. I move amendment 4. Amendment 4 agreed to. Amendments 5 to 9 moved—Shirley-Anne Somerville—and agreed to. Schedule 2, as amended, agreed to. Sections 13 to 15 agreed to. Long title agreed to.