MSPs asked to disclose trans status as Holyrood moves to restore sex data

All MSP have been asked to disclose whether or not they are transgender as Holyrood authorities work to restore data on the sex of MSPs.

A non-binary category was first added to the listing for male and female members after the election before the information was removed altogether.

Critics said that move was erasing data on women’s participation and MSPs including Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton and Labour’s Carol Mochan raised the matter with officials.

Parliamentary authorities have now told MSPs that the public has a “legitimate interest in understanding the sex and, as appropriate, trans status of their elected representatives”.

All members have now been asked to complete a diversity survey disclosing their sex and telling officials whether or not the identify as transgender.

MSPs have until Friday to say whether they “consider themselves to be trans” and asked to report their trans status, with examples including “non-binary, trans man [and] trans woman”.

The results will be published online – but only where members consent to the disclosure.

Where no consent is given, the information will be listed as “undisclosed”.

In an email to MSPs, the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body said the publication of the data would be “handled with care and sensitivity, and presented as accurately and transparently as possible”.

The process is being carried out in line with the code of practice from the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission.

At the time of removing the male/female search function, a Scottish Parliament spokesperson said it was a “legacy system” under review as part of a wider inclusion programme.

The decision followed the election of Scottish Green MSPs Iris Duane and Q Manivannan, who identify as transgender and non-binary respectively.

In an email to MSPs, Lorna Hunter, the parliament’s director of people, communications and inclusion, said: “Following the election, some information was made available online before it had been confirmed directly by individual MSPs. Once identified, it was removed from the parliament’s website.

“To address this, an additional confirmation step has been introduced for the current parliamentary session to ensure relevant diversity information is confirmed directly with individual MSPs before use.”