Rishi Sunak has failed to say whether his government will block Scotland’s gender recognition reforms as he warned “there may be impacts across the UK” caused by the legislation.

MSPs overwhelmingly backed the gender recognition reforms last month which will remove the need for trans people to have a gender dysphoria diagnosis to obtain a gender recognition certificate.

Instead, Scotland will move to a system of self-ID alongside a host of other countries, while the minimum age will be lowered from 18 to 16.

Speaking on his first official visit to Scotland as Prime Minister, Mr Sunak said he is “concerned” about the impact across the wider UK of changes in gender recognition legislation passed last month by the Holyrood Parliament.

The Prime Minister declined to say whether Westminster could block the legislation, saying the Government is taking advice on the issue “as is completely standard practice”.

He added: “Obviously this is a very sensitive area and I know there were very robust debates and exchanges on it as the Bill was passing in Scotland.

“There may be impacts across the UK that we need to be aware of and understand the impact of them, and that’s what we’re doing, and once the Government has received final advice it will set out next steps.”

Later, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said the UK Government should not block the Bill.

He told Good Morning Scotland: “This is not just a question about the GRR (Gender Recognition Reform Bill) or people’s individual views on it. This is about democracy.

“The Scottish Parliament has voted in favour of legislation that sits within devolved competencies, and it’s incumbent upon Westminster to ensure that legislation is passed in full.”

Ms Sturgeon, also speaking to the BBC, said that her talks with Mr Sunak last night were “constructive and cordial”.

She added: “Clearly Rishi Sunak and I disagree on lots but we were able to talk about some of the areas where the Scottish and UK governments can work together.

“Obviously we talked a bit about the NHS and the pressures people are living under right now. We talked about how we can work together to realise the vast renewable energy potential that Scotland has.”

She added that there was “no indication from the Prime Minister of new money” for the NHS.