Speeches by Jardine.

“Apologies for having to be elsewhere at the start of the meeting but thank you all for being here. I want to talk a wee bit about access to high-profile work. There has not been a lot of research, but it seems to indicate that there is not much career progression for women referees and officials. Do you think that fema…”

“Alison and Sian, is there anything either of you would like to add?”

“Watching coverage of the football in America, it may be difficult to believe that a great number of Scottish football fans were refused ESTAs—the electronic system for travel authorisation—at the last minute, after they had previously been approved, costing them thousands of pounds in cancelled airfares and hotels. Wil…”

“I know from my mailbox that today’s statement will be widely welcomed by parents in Edinburgh West who are concerned about the safety of their children and the impact of social media on them, but does the Secretary of State agree that there are societal dangers as well? A lot of children are directed away from neutral …”

“It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mrs Barker. There are moments that remind us why we are MPs and what we are here to do, and there are people who do the same. Archie Goodburn is one of those people. I met Archie when he was 23. He is an elite athlete—a Commonwealth swimmer for Scotland. However, Archie has an …”

“A reason I ask that, and for further clarity, is: could the implication of the draft code be that women’s associations that have changed their membership policy since the Supreme Court judgment may now be able to revert to trans-inclusive memberships because those are two protected characteristics?”

“Just to be absolutely clear, as I understand it the draft code says its multi-protected characteristics approach is necessary for compliance with Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, freedom of association. Could a women’s association—for example, the Girl Guides or the Women’s Institute—say that it w…”

“Even since the GRE in 2004 and the Equality Act 2010?”

“One change that you have made to the code is in relation to discrimination exemptions for associations that admit members based on multiple protected characteristics. How will that work? Can you explain that please?”

“When someone says to you, “Oh, no, I am a biological woman,” how do you know that they are not, when they have just said that?”

“My point was—to use the terminology of the Supreme Court and the guidance—if a biological woman is challenged when going into a single-sex space for perhaps good reason, on the part that their common sense tells them that this may not be a biological woman, how do we prove that we are?”

“If you do not mind me saying, try and stick to the point.”

“We have not actually met before, so thank you very much for coming along. The questions and answers we have just heard seem to me to point up the whole basis of the issue that people have perhaps expressed concern over. This common-sense approach and how, or on what grounds, does someone look like a man or a woman, and…”

“Going back to what you were saying earlier, you have said repeatedly that people thought they had rights when they did not, but also that the system that we have has worked well for decades. If it has worked well for decades, why do you think we felt there was a need to change it?”

“While we all welcome the fact that the Government are finally acting, I will point out to the Minister that not a single parent of the very many parents in Edinburgh West who have been in contact with me has requested that the Government ask the tech companies to behave differently. Every single one of them is concerne…”

“20. What assessment she has made of the impact on the economy of her proposed changes to immigration rules.”

“Hospitality, social care and the tech sector are all vital sources of employment and economic stability in my constituency. The companies in those sectors are telling me that, despite their efforts to recruit domestically first, the Home Secretary’s changes to indefinite leave to remain are making it very difficult for…”

“So that it is perhaps channelled better.”

“One specific area I wondered about is research into equipment for women because historically all equipment in sport was designed for men. How big a gap is there or is there no gap? Do we just think it is a gap? How would you characterise it, Emily?”

“Emily, do you feel there are specific gaps?”