Court battle over definition of 'woman' has cost Scottish government more than £766,000

The Scottish government has spent more than £766,000 of taxpayers' money in its long-running legal battle over the definition of a woman.

For Women Scotland (FWS) won the case last April when the UK's highest court ruled "woman" and "sex" in the Equality Act 2010 refer to "a biological woman and biological sex".

The Scottish government was ordered to pay a portion of the campaign group's legal costs, with FWS confirming on Tuesday it had received a "full and final settlement" of £392,500.

In total, FWS has received £540,000 from the Scottish government.

Adding this to its own legal costs, the SNP administration has spent at least £766,498.80 of taxpayers' money on two judicial reviews linked to the case.

FWS said the funds received will be used to cover the costs of its current legal challenge against the government's policy on the management of transgender prisoners, and "any future legal action necessary to ensure the Scottish government complies with the law".

In a statement, the group said: "We are eternally grateful for the overwhelming public support that enabled us to successfully challenge the Scottish government's unlawful actions and to clarify that 'woman', 'man' and 'sex' have always taken their biological meaning in the Equality Act 2010."

Figures revealed by a Freedom of Information (FOI) request last year showed the Scottish government spent £216,182.50 on the judicial review at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, which FWS won in February 2022.

This included £68,682.50 for its own counsel and court costs and £147,500 to cover FWS legal fees.

The Scottish government then spent at least £550,316.30 on the judicial review at the UK Supreme Court in London.

This included £392,500 to FWS and £157,816.30 for its own costs, although the campaign group noted that amount is "expected to rise slightly" to reflect the legal work in settling FWS's bill.

That means the Scottish government has spent at least £766,498.80 on these two judicial reviews.

Final costs are yet to be confirmed and will be published once complete.

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Scottish Conservative shadow equalities minister Tess White MSP said the government had "taken far too long to pay what is owed".

She added: "They should never have squandered taxpayers' cash in the first place on defending the indefensible.

"Worse still, the Nationalists have not learned their lesson and are wasting even more public cash on a legal fight to allow male-bodied prisoners to be housed in women's jails."

Ms White urged First Minister John Swinney to "grow a backbone and stop dancing to the tune of gender extremists".

A Scottish government spokesperson said: "The Scottish government has made clear it accepts the Supreme Court ruling and is taking forward the detailed work necessary.

"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."

(c) Sky News 2026: Court battle over definition of 'woman' has cost Scottish government more than £766,000