Committee chair's plan for courts to clarify any new equality law is a ‘dereliction of duty’ - Doug Beattie
The Alliance MLA leading a Stormont inquiry into the future of equality legislation in Northern Ireland has faced criticism for suggesting courts could “clarify” any new law “once it is produced”.
Paula Bradshaw’s comments came as MLAs debated how the landmark Supreme Court ruling that sex in law is defined by biology – not how someone identifies – will affect Northern Ireland.
Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie has accused her of trying to “deflect difficult decisions to others” – calling it “a dereliction of duty” by the legislator.
The Alliance MLA – who chairs Stormont’s Executive Office (TEO) committee – has not said whether or not she thinks the ruling of the UK’s top court should apply in Northern Ireland.
That committee is currently looking at “gaps” in equality legislation – but has largely avoided the issue of what a woman is. Ms Bradshaw publicly supported the Scottish gender recognition laws which ultimately led to the Supreme Court ruling, after a legal challenge by the campaign group For Women Scotland.
Welcoming the controversial Holyrood legislation in 2022, Ms Bradshaw said the Scottish Parliament was “leading the way on social justice” and said she wanted Northern Ireland to “get up to pace with them ASAP”.
In September, Ms Bradshaw described views from the TUV MLA Timothy Gaston on the definition of a woman as “gratuitously offensive to sections of society”.
The North Antrim MLA had referred to the idea of “a man claiming or thinking that he is a woman”.
On Monday, Ms Bradshaw, the Alliance chief whip, said the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman highlights the need for local equality legislation – arguing that the current legislation is outdated.
“I trust this ruling, whatever our own views on it may well be, has at least demonstrated the merit of a single equality act here in Northern Ireland, and of the potential for courts to clarify about such legislation once it is produced.
“We cannot continue to be left behind in this regard”, she said.
Former UUP leader Doug Beattie has criticised the remarks.
He told the News Letter: “What is the point of a legislative body if they create legislation designed to be deliberately challenged in courts?
“That is literally what the Alliance Party chair of the TEO committee wants. This is trying, yet again, to deflect difficult decisions to others and it is a dereliction of duty and role of a legislator.
“In this case it’s about what we do following the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman.
“So instead of meeting the issue head on the proposal is to create legislation but let the courts have the last say instead of just saying clearly, single sex spaces are based on biological sex.
“It’s that simple and it can be done now by every minster and ministerial department instead of kicking the can down the road with the aim of not taking responsibility, which seems to be the Alliance MLA’s aim”.
The comments by Paula Bradshaw were the first by a senior Alliance figure in response to the landmark ruling, which happened a fortnight ago.
While she didn’t say whether or not she supported the ruling, Ms Bradshaw described it as “quite clear”.
The South Belfast MLA described it as “an extremely sensitive issue” and said politicians need to be “thinking about the non-discrimination of all nine protected categories in Great Britain including sex and gender reassignment”.
Ms Bradshaw said: “Although the ruling itself – it was quite clear – the legal ramifications in Northern Ireland, given our particular circumstances, are quite complex.
“We are already seeing public authorities making assumptions about how the ruling is to be applied, but it is essential that this is based on appropriate guidance from the appropriate commissions”.