The Scottish government has handed over nearly £400,000 of taxpayers’ money to For Women Scotland after ministers lost a landmark Supreme Court battle over the legal meaning of the word “woman”.
For Women Scotland (FWS) confirmed it has received £242,500 for the Supreme Court case and £150,000 for the earlier Court of Session action, taking the total payout to £392,500.
When the government’s own legal bills are added, the failed defence of its gender identity policy has cost the public at least £766,498.
Years of Legal Battles End in Total Victory for Campaigners
The fight began in 2018 when Holyrood passed the Gender Representation on Public Boards Act, aiming for 50 per cent women on public boards.
Scottish ministers issued guidance saying transgender women with gender recognition certificates (GRCs) counted toward the female quota.
For Women Scotland challenged that guidance, arguing it undermined sex-based rights.
After six years, five court hearings and multiple judges, the UK Supreme Court ruled unanimously in December 2024 that under the Equality Act 2010, sex means biological sex.
A GRC does not change someone’s legal sex for the purposes of equality law.
Lady Haldane’s earlier Court of Session ruling that trans women with GRCs “are to be treated as women” was overturned.
Taxpayers Foot Huge Bill for “Indefensible” Policy
Conservative MSP Tess White said ministers “should never have squandered taxpayers’ cash in the first place on defending the indefensible”.
She added: “SNP ministers have taken far too long to pay what is owed.”
The Scottish government spent years and hundreds of thousands of pounds fighting to keep the policy that trans women with certificates are legally women in all circumstances.
They lost at every level.
FWS co-founder Susan Smith said the money received is a “full and final settlement” and will fund their ongoing legal challenge against the government’s transgender prisoner policy.
Prisoner Policy Still Under Fire
For Women Scotland is now taking ministers back to court over rules that allow trans women with a history of violence against women to be housed in female jails.
Current Scottish Prison Service guidance still permits case-by-case placement of trans prisoners in the women’s estate, even after the Supreme Court ruling.
FWS says this directly contradicts the Supreme Court’s decision that biological males remain male under equality law, regardless of certificates.
Marion Calder, FWS co-director, said: “The Supreme Court was crystal clear. Scottish ministers cannot keep pretending otherwise when women’s safety is at stake.”
Government Finally Accepts Defeat But Drags Feet on Payment
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “There is an established process whereby parties seek to establish the final costs payable for a legal case. This has now concluded and payment has been settled.”
Ministers insist they accept the Supreme Court ruling and have updated statutory guidance on single-sex spaces.
Yet critics point out the prisoner policy remains unchanged in practice.
The payout comes months after the court ordered the government to cover FWS legal costs, prompting accusations of deliberate delay.
This case has exposed deep divisions within the SNP and across Scottish society about the conflict between gender identity policies and women’s sex-based rights.
Thousands of women rallied outside the Scottish Parliament during the long legal fight. Many feel vindicated.
Susan Smith told supporters outside the Supreme Court: “This is a victory for every woman and girl in Scotland who has been told her rights don’t matter.”
The money will now fuel more challenges until, campaigners say, every public body fully respects biological sex in law.
What do you think? Should ministers have fought this case with public money, or accepted biological reality years ago? Drop your thoughts below.
