Report Summary
Issued 11 September 2025, this FOI response provides information to assist the requester, explains why some of the information is exempt from disclosure, and advises that overall the request exceeds the cost of compliance.
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Request
Your request for information dated 12 August 2025 is copied below.
I am making this request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
It concerns the Scottish Police Authority’s statutory responsibilities for:
- Governance and strategic oversight of Police Scotland;
- Approval and monitoring of budgets, strategic policy, and performance;
- Ensuring Police Scotland’s compliance with statutory duties, including the Equality Act 2010, safeguarding obligations, and lawful public resource use.
This request is made in the context of the binding judgment of the UK Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers (No. 2) [2024] UKSC 12, confirming that the term “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex.
- Equality Act 2010 Compliance and Governance Oversight
Please provide, for the period 1 January 2019 to the date of your response:
1.1. All SPA-held policy papers, legal advice (internal or external), board or committee papers, and briefing notes concerning Equality Act 2010 compliance in Police Scotland operations, training, recruitment, and policy, with specific reference to:
- The For Women Scotland ruling and its implications for policing;
- Use of gender identity terminology in guidance or policy;
- Safeguarding obligations, including protection of women, children, and vulnerable groups;
- Prevention of compelled belief or restrictions on lawful expression, including political or ideological content in operational or training materials;
- Immigration/resource eligibility issues in operational practice or public service delivery.
1.2. All records of discussions, decisions, or resolutions by the SPA Board or committees on these topics, including equality impact assessments and any follow-up monitoring or implementation records.
- Immigration Controls, Resource Eligibility, and Public Resource Use
Please provide:
2.1. All SPA oversight reports, monitoring records, decision papers, or follow-up reviews concerning:
- Police Scotland’s role in immigration enforcement;
- Resource eligibility checks for public services;
- Border/port policing operations;
- Diversion or misuse of public policing resources for purposes outside statutory remit, including political or ideological activities.
2.2. Correspondence between SPA and Police Scotland, HMICS, or the Scottish Government relating to these matters, including safeguarding considerations linked to immigration/border operations.
- Budgetary and Funding Oversight
3.1. All records showing SPA’s approval, amendment, or rejection of Police Scotland budgets, funding allocations, or operational plans where Equality Act compliance, safeguarding, or immigration/resource enforcement were relevant considerations.
3.2. Any conditions, restrictions, compliance requirements, or clawback actions placed on Police Scotland funding linked to Equality Act obligations, safeguarding failures, or unlawful public spending.
- Post-Supreme Court Ruling Actions and Rationale
If SPA has taken no action to amend policy, governance oversight, or funding conditions following the For Women Scotland ruling, please provide:
- The recorded legal rationale for this position;
- Any documented assessment of SPA’s statutory duties in this context;
- Any board, committee, or ministerial decision records explaining the stance;
- Any monitoring, follow-up, or review records showing why no change was deemed necessary.
- Scope, Format, and Definitions
- This request covers all recorded information, including but not limited to: board papers, meeting minutes, draft and final documents, emails, handwritten notes, briefing packs, call notes, and audio or video recordings where held.
- “Correspondence” includes any communication in any format between SPA members/staff and external parties.
On 15 August 2025 we requested clarification in an effort to narrow the scope of your request.
Your response received on 15 August is copied below:
I confirm that my request does indeed centre on the implications and handling of the UK Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers, 16 April 2025, which confirmed that the protected characteristic of “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex.
However, my request should not be interpreted so narrowly as to exclude relevant recorded information held by SPA where that judgment has informed, prompted, or influenced:
- Strategic, operational, governance, or policy considerations on Equality Act 2010 compliance
- Any safeguarding, fairness, or compelled belief risk assessments
- Oversight, audit, or review of public spending and resourcing linked to equality compliance
- Communications (internal or with third parties) addressing the judgment’s impact
This includes (but is not limited to) documents, emails, meeting minutes, impact assessments, legal or policy advice (subject to FOISA exemptions applied correctly), planning timetables, and equality strategy updates. The date range of 1 January 2019 to present is maintained to capture pre-judgment preparatory or related work, as well as post-judgment actions.
