Trans lobby group met minister to push youth commission reform bid

A trans lobby group who rejected the findings of the Cass report held meetings with a government minister, offering to set up a youth commission on educational reform.

LGBT Youth Scotland – which described puberty blockers as “wonderful” – met Jenny Gilruth at the beginning of the year and raised concerns about school staff being reluctant to engage with its beliefs.

Dr Hilary Cass’s report, published in April and widely seen as the most comprehensive and credible in the area ever carried out, noted possible risks from the drugs such as infertility and damage to brain function and growth.

It warned of the dangers of “socially transitioning” vulnerable children who suffer autism, neurodiversity, and mental health problems.

But, on their website, LGBT Youth Scotland said: “We disagree with the recommendations made by the Cass review as puberty blockers have been shown to give trans young people more time to think about their identity and prevent changes that are an uncomfortable and dysphoria inducing experience.”

The group, which receives over £1 million funding from the Scottish Government and whose charter has been adopted by primary and secondary schools across Scotland, met Gilruth on January 25.

Government minutes state: “LGBT Youth Scotland offered to establish youth commission on education reform.” The meeting ended with the promise of further meetings. Educational psychologist Carolyn Brown, convenor of ScoPAG, a group of professional experts from education, social work, health and psychology backgrounds, said the offer was: “irresponsible and inappropriate given they have not provided any credentials whatsoever to even discuss the matter.”

Helen Joyce, director of advocacy for Sex Matters, a human rights charity, said: “This proposal should be rejected out of hand. The Scottish government needs to commit to implement in full the findings of the Cass Review, which is the world-leading synthesis of the evidence concerning the treatment of gender-distressed children. No group that takes an approach incompatible with Cass should be anywhere near children.”

One mum whose autistic daughter has been heavily influenced by trans ideology in schools said: “We have repeatedly told the government about the lifelong harm our children are being exposed to, so for them to actually even consider meeting this group to consider their proposal is an utter betrayal of all the concerns we’ve raised and the pain so many families have suffered.”

Scottish Conservative Deputy Leader Meghan Gallacher said: “While LGBT Youth Scotland do a lot of work in Scotland’s schools, parents have expressed concerns about how they operate and how qualified certain people are to deal with issues facing certain pupils.”

When LGBT Scotland was first approached, it denied there was ever any meeting. In a statement it said: “We are unaware of any plans to establish a youth commission on education reform; however, we would be open to having these conversations in the future.”

© PA

However, when it was told The Sunday Post has the government minutes from the meeting, it responded with a statement from its CEO, Mhairi Crawford.

Crawford said: “It was an introductory meeting with Ms Gilruth which we had been seeking since she took up the education post. The discussions were wide-ranging and one passing suggestion we made was for a commission.

“We’d be delighted if the Scottish Government were to progress this, advancing its LGBT inclusive education commitments, building on recommendations which were accepted by Scottish Ministers in November 2018.”

The Scottish Government said: “We are committed to doing everything we can to make Scotland the best place to grow up for LGBTQI+ young people.

“We believe the existing approaches provide suitable ways to engage the LGBTQI+ community, but we will continue to work closely with Education Reform and stakeholders, including LGBT Youth Scotland, to ensure the views of LGBT young people are represented.”

During the meeting with Jenny Gilruth, LGBT Youth Scotland told the Minister that 20 per cent of trans pupils leave school with no qualifications.

An angry mum whose daughter has suffered this fate said: “The reason these children are sitting at home with no qualifications, no careers, and facing a lifetime of suffering and taking health damaging drugs is because they have been captured by trans ideology being spouted at school instead of being encouraged to concentrate on their education.”

Concerned education experts, psychologists and social workers who make up the organisation ScoPAG, say the Scottish government’s late response to the Cass report, issued on the day election results were announced, failed to fully address the influences Dr Hilary Cass warned about.

Independent social worker Maggie Mellon, a member of ScoPAG said:” The Scottish government needs to address all Scottish public services and it needs to understand the broader context for the emergence of this public health emergency for children.

“And they need to address this issue promptly and effectively.

“Health services are not the start but the end of the support pathway when it comes to gender questioning children.

“All our public services need to respond to children’s distress and questioning using an evidenced based approach to the Cass recommendations.

“The evidence from countries affected is that the source of the huge increase in gender questioning children stems from the known phenomenon of social contagion, media influence and ‘product placement’ of the term “transgender” within schools and nearly all other establishments.”

Educational psychologist Carolyn Brown, also a member of ScoPAG, said: “Based on the robust evidence provided by Cass and other international research, our health, education and social services should remove gender affirming and social transition policies from all institutions with immediate effect.

“For the sake of the emotional wellbeing of all our children, and staff, the concept that any individual can change sex should be removed from all aspects of our public institutions.

“The Scottish government, along with those responsible for running and overseeing public institutions, should recognise the embedded nature of gender ideology as a public health emergency affecting the safeguarding of all children and families.

“They must now take responsibility for its removal instead of listening to trans lobby groups offering their services to establish a youth commission to reform education.”

Alba MSP Ash Regan said: “The Scottish Government must urgently demonstrate a move back to competence by halting the devolution of critical decision-making to government-funded lobby groups. Groups such as LGBT Youth Scotland have been left to mark their own homework on often unqualified improvements while securing continued public funding.

“Given their statement, issued over the summer recess, on the Scottish Government’s intention to implement the Cass Review recommendations, the Cabinet Secretary for Education has no excuse for not being fully informed of the need for Cass Compliance in education.

“The idea of the government-funded lobbyist organisation LGBT Youth Scotland, itself the subject of controversy, boldly seeking to reform the Scottish education system is endemic to the government’s failing public trust. Lobbyist tails must stop wagging cabinet portfolios, and actual experts must be welcomed back to decision-making tables to improve outcomes across Scotland.”