25-26/033

I refer to your request for information (FOI 25-26/033) dated 05 August 2025 which we have handled under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FOISA).

Your request

Following the UK Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers [2024] UKSC 59, it has been confirmed that the protected characteristic of “sex” under the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex. This ruling is binding across the UK and must be accurately reflected in all legal and regulatory practice.

In light of this, I request the following:

1. Legal and Policy Review

Any internal legal advice, external counsel advice, governance papers, or correspondence discussing the implications of [2024] UKSC 59 for GTCS’s statutory duties, professional standards, and equality obligations.

Records of any actions taken to review, amend, or clarify GTCS guidance, training materials, or public statements in light of this ruling, including the definition of “sex” in regulatory documents.

2. Training and Guidance Materials

Copies of all Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training, professional learning content, or guidance documents—whether internal or external—used or endorsed by GTCS since 1 January 2020 that refer to:

• The Equality Act 2010
• The protected characteristic of “sex”
• “Gender identity” or “gender reassignment”

Any documentation showing how these materials were checked for legal compliance with the Equality Act 2010 and recent case law, including risk assessments regarding compelled ideological belief or misrepresentation of legal duties.

3. Third-Party Involvement

Records of any collaborations, communications, or funding arrangements since 2020 with Stonewall, Scottish Trans, LGBT Youth Scotland, or any third-party organisations involved in influencing GTCS policy or training content on equality, sex, or gender.

Any internal assessments or reviews of how these external materials or partnerships align with GTCS’s legal and regulatory obligations under the Equality Act 2010.

4. Complaints and Professional Conduct

The number and general nature of complaints received since January 2020 concerning:

• Misrepresentation of the protected characteristic of sex
• The treatment of teachers or members for holding lawful beliefs relating to biological sex
• Allegations of compelled ideological belief within the teaching profession

Records of any disciplinary actions, policy responses, or guidance issued in response to such complaints.

5. Legal Compliance Declaration

Please confirm whether GTCS has taken steps to ensure that its professional standards, policies, training materials, and regulatory guidance are fully aligned with the legal definition of “sex” as clarified by For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers [2024] UKSC 59.

If not, please provide any legal advice, policy rationale, or statutory interpretation upon which GTCS has relied to justify a divergence from this binding interpretation of the Equality Act 2010.

Accountability

GTCS has a duty to regulate the profession in line with law, not ideology. Any failure to update training or standards following the Supreme Court ruling, or to distinguish between protected characteristics and contested beliefs, may raise serious concerns regarding regulatory compliance, public confidence, and the professional rights of teachers.

As the gatekeeper of teaching standards and registration in Scotland, GTCS’s failure to reflect the current legal definition of sex risks undermining lawful safeguarding, freedom of belief, and sex-based rights in schools.

Our response

Please see our response to each of your queries below.

Legal and Policy Review

You asked for information “discussing the implications of [2024] UKSC 59 for GTCS’s statutory duties, professional standards, and equality obligations.”

Having conducted a search we can confirm that we do not hold any records related to this query and have applied section 17(1)(b) of FOISA to this query as no information is held.

Training and Guidance Materials

You also asked for all “training, professional learning content, or guidance documents—whether internal or external—used or endorsed by GTCS since 1 January 2020” that refers to the “Equality Act 2010”, “the protected characteristic of “sex” as well as “Gender identity” or “gender reassignment”.

Having conducted a search we can confirm that we do hold records related to this query. Specifically, we have identified the following records:

1. The Registration Snapshot report concerning provisionally registered teachers;
2. An online guide for teachers on equality and diversity;
3. A document on sponsoring for diversity in teacher progression;
4. An online news article discussing sponsoring within the profession;
5. Two webpages referencing gender reassignment and sex;
6. Registrant resources containing modules on equality and diversity.

As this information is otherwise available, we have applied section 25(1) of FOISA to this request.

In relation to internal training materials, please note that ongoing training modules for GTC Scotland staff on the provisions of the Equality Act are held by a third party who provides temporary, time-limited access to the presentations. As such, we have applied section 17(1)(b) to this information as it is not held by GTC Scotland.

We also hold a record of additional training which some staff undertook in respect of equality impact assessments in early 2024. We have identified one item of the training material provided as containing references to the Equality Act 2010 and the protected characteristics.

We have withheld this information in line with section 33(1)(b) of FOISA as we consider that disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of third parties we contractually engage.

There is a clear public interest in the transparency and accountability of public authorities, particularly in relation to how it conducts itself commercially. This is why GTC Scotland publishes its annual report and financial statements for public review through its website. However, there is also considerable public interest in GTC Scotland entering into partnerships with third parties who operate in a commercially sensitive environment and protecting their intellectual property is necessary to ensure that those relationships are not compromised, and GTC Scotland’s reputation is not undermined. In this case, we consider that the public interest in withholding the request information outweighs the public interest in releasing it.

Third-Party Involvement

You also asked for any information “since 2020 with Stonewall, Scottish Trans, LGBT Youth Scotland, or any third-party organisations involved in influencing GTCS policy or training content on equality, sex, or gender.”

Having conducted a search we can confirm that we do not hold any records related to this query and have applied section 17(1)(b) of FOISA to this query as no information is held.

Complaints and Professional Conduct

You asked for the “number and general nature of complaints received since January 2020 concerning” the “Misrepresentation of the protected characteristic of sex”, “the treatment of teachers or members for holding lawful beliefs relating to biological sex” as well as any “Allegations of compelled ideological belief within the teaching profession”.

Please note that we do not record referrals in the terms envisaged by this query within your request. To answer it, we would need to interrogate hundreds of individual Fitness to Teach referrals received within the timescale you have specified.

Due to the significant amount of time and resources it would take to locate and retrieve the information within these records, we have determined that section 12(1) of FOISA would apply to this element of your request due to the excessive cost of compliance. Section 12(1) provides that section 1(1) of FOISA does not oblige a Scottish public authority to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the amount prescribed in regulations made by the Scottish Ministers, which is currently £600. Please see our detailed Fees Notice below:

Fees Notice

• The number of conduct referrals identified by the search: 1,046 conduct referrals Actual cost of staff time at hourly rate of member of staff: £15.00
• Number of hours required: 1046 referrals at roughly 5 minutes per record for a total of 87 hours.
• Total cost: 87 hours multiplied by £15.00 per hour = £1,307.50

The above cost estimate lies outside of the maximum £600 limit set by the Fees Regulations. We are therefore not required to comply with this query within your request. However, should you wish to refine the scope, you may be able to bring your request within the limit.

Advice and Assistance

By way of advice and assistance, if you were to limit the scope of your request to referrals received between 1 January 2024 and 19 August 2025 then this would involve a total 340 referrals or £425 in fees, bringing your request within the cost limit. This would mean the fees we would require you to pay would total £32.50. We have set this calculation below:

• The number of records identified by the scope: 340‍
• Actual staff time at hourly rate of member of staff: £15.00‍
• Number of hours required: 340 referrals at roughly 5 minutes per record for a total of 28.33 hours ‍
• Total cost: £425‍
• Less first £100: £325‍
• Total chargeable amount (10% of the total): £32.50

If you would like to pay this fee or apply other factors to limit the scope of your request, please let us know and we will respond accordingly.

Legal Compliance Declaration

Please note that under FOISA, a requester is entitled to recorded information which is held by a Public Authority, and we are required to handle requests in an impartial and objective manner. Under this heading you requested:

“Please confirm whether GTCS has taken steps to ensure that its professional standards, policies, training materials, and regulatory guidance are fully aligned with the legal definition of “sex” as clarified by For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers [2024] UKSC 59.

If not, please provide any legal advice, policy rationale, or statutory interpretation upon which GTCS has relied to justify a divergence from this binding interpretation of the Equality Act 2010.”

We do not consider that this constitutes a clear request for recorded information. However, by way of advice and assistance we can confirm that we do not hold any information that contains legal advice, policy rationale, or statutory interpretation upon which we have relied in respect of the Supreme Court's recent decision in For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers [2024] UKSC 16.

Accountability

We have no comment to make on the section of your request under the heading of ‘Accountability’, as this does not constitute a request for recorded information.

Right to review and appeal

You may request a review of how we have dealt with this information request if you are dissatisfied with this response. This can be done by contacting us at informationgovernance@gtcs.org.uk, describing your original request and explaining the basis for your dissatisfaction. You have 40 working days from receipt of this response to submit a review request. When the review process has been completed, if you are still dissatisfied, you may use the Scottish Information Commissioner’s guidance on making an appeal to do so.