Editing Gender Recognition Act 2004 (section)

==Reform bill in Scotland==
{{Main|Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill}}

In March 2022, the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill was formally introduced in the [[Scottish Parliament]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill |url=https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/bills/gender-recognition-reform-scotland-bill |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=www.parliament.scot |language=en}}</ref> If enacted, this bill would have amended the Gender Recognition Act in Scotland and changed the process of applying for a GRC. Under the changes, applicants would no longer have needed to prove having lived for two years in their acquired gender and would no longer have had to obtain a [[gender dysphoria]] diagnosis. Instead, they would have been required to make a statutory declaration that they intend to remain permanently in their acquired gender. In addition, applications would have been handled by the [[General Register Office for Scotland|Registrar General for Scotland]] instead of a UK-wide [[Gender Recognition Panel|gender recognition panel]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-03-03 |title=Gender recognition reform bill tabled at Holyrood |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-60589578 |access-date=2022-03-05}}</ref> The [[Government of the United Kingdom|UK Government]] has ruled out implementing similar changes in England and Wales.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-22 |title=UK government drops gender self-identification plan for trans people |url=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/sep/22/uk-government-drops-gender-self-identification-plan-for-trans-people |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> The bill passed by a vote of 86–39 within the Scottish Parliament on stage three in December 2022. On 17 January 2023, the UK Government used Section 35 of the [[Scotland Act 1998]] to prevent the bill from being proposed for royal assent, the first such time Section 35 has been used.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Peter |title=UK government formally blocks Scotland's gender recognition law|date=17 January 2023 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/17/uk-government-formally-blocks-scotlands-gender-recognition-legislation |work=The Guardian |access-date=17 January 2023}}</ref>