Kate Forbes has ‘unequivocally’ backed the protection of single-sex spaces amid a trans row between NHS Fife and nurse Sandie Peggie.
The Deputy First Minister’s comments come a day after Health Secretary Neil Gray said he had ‘full confidence’ in the health board.
Ms Forbes is a long-standing critic of Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, which passed through parliament during her maternity leave from the finance brief.
It was subsequently blocked by then-UK Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack, who used a section 35 order of the Scotland Act to veto the legislation over grounds it infringed on the reserved Equality Act.
In an exclusive interview with The Herald, Ms Forbes said she would not comment on the live tribunal case, which has been adjourned until July.
She was asked whether it was right for her government colleague, Mr Gray, to back NHS Fife.
“This is a live tribunal case so I am not going to comment on any aspect of the tribunal case," she said.
However, she said: “As a mother and as a woman I can say unequivocally that I support single-sex spaces, and they are a critical part of how we protect women.”
She is the first Scottish Government minister to make such a declaration on the issue.
Gray has full confidence in NHS Fife amid Sandie Peggie row
Sandie Peggie: Tories attempt to force SNP statement fails
A political row has erupted following the tribunal, after Ms Peggie, a nurse of 30 years at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, was disciplined by NHS Fife.
She had complained to health bosses about sharing a changing room with transgender doctor Dr Beth Upton, claiming it amounted to unlawful harassment under the Equality Act.
The Scottish Government has said it would not be appropriate to comment on a live case.
However, after being doorstepped by journalists at a private event at NHS Fife’s Queen Margaret University Hospital in Dunfermline, Neil Gray yesterday said he had ‘full confidence’ in the health board.
Journalists asked if he had full confidence in management, with the Health Secretary responding: “Of course I do.”
He was asked whether he had any concerns about how Ms Peggie was treated. He said: “I think that’s a process for NHS Fife to deal with. I am not here to comment on that. That is not fair or right to do so when a process is underway in a tribunal and any disciplinary is live.”
The Herald on Sunday last week revealed Mr Gray may have been warned the health board acted illegally in June last year.
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