The SNP Government has failed to close a dangerous loophole that allows registered sex offenders to change their gender without informing police – almost three years after promising to do so.
In response to a Scottish Conservative Freedom of Information request, Police Scotland said they hold no searchable records of the number of registered sex offenders who have changed gender.
The revelation comes amid ongoing controversy over a prison policy that still fails to guarantee that male-born violent offenders are kept out of women’s jails.
This is despite SNP ministers promising during the passage of their controversial Gender Recognition Reform Bill that the law would be updated to require this information to be recorded.
Not only does this allow offenders to play the system, it has legal ramifications in light of the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in April that sex means biological sex.
The Scottish Conservatives have also repeatedly called on the SNP Government to introduce a ban on sex offenders changing their names. The party disclosed in April this year alarming figures showing that up to 506 such criminals had exploited this legal loophole in just two years.
Shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr MSP expressed his dismay that SNP minister continue to turn a blind eye to offenders exploiting loopholes for their own gain while jeopardising public safety.
Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr MSP said: “This is yet another broken SNP promise.
“The Nationalists were warned about this dangerous loophole and pledged to fix it but, almost three years later, nothing has changed.
“This is a matter of public safety. Allowing dangerous individuals to change their gender without police oversight risks them exploiting their new identity to gain access to single-sex spaces and evade monitoring.
“In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, it also leaves the Scottish Prison Service at risk of legal challenges and potential compensation payouts.
“Astonishingly, the SNP, Greens and Lib Dems voted down our amendment to ban registered sex offenders from obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate while on the register – an essential and common-sense safeguard.
“By refusing to close this loophole and the one that allows sex offenders to change their name, SNP ministers are jeopardising public safety.
“This has to stop. They must legislate now.”
Notes:
Police Scotland confirmed they do not know how many registered sex offenders have changed gender. A freedom of information response from Police Scotland confirmed: ‘An individuals’ gender is not a requirement of the notifiable information as set out in the legislation and as such, a RSO does not need to provide Police Scotland with confirmation of their gender or whether they have changed their gender. Whilst Police Scotland may record whether an RSO has disclosed their gender identify...it is not a required field and…it is not possible to conduct a search which would automatically retrieve this information.’ (Police Scotland FOI response, 13 August 2025, Available on request).
Back in 2022, the SNP promised to introduce new rules requiring sex offenders to notify the police if they were going to change gender. Shona Robison told Holyrood’s Equalities Committee: ‘I can inform the committee today that the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans will, before the bill is commenced, introduce regulations to amend the sex offender notification requirements so that those who are on the register are required to notify the police with details about whether they have made an application for a gender recognition certificate.’ (Official report, 15 November 2022, link).
The Scottish Prison Service’s new transgender prisoner policy allows transgender prisoners convicted of sexual or violent offences to be housed in women’s prisons if ‘they do not present an unacceptable risk’. The Scottish Prison Service’s new transgender prisoner policy states: ‘A transgender woman who meets these criteria [of being convicted/accused of certain offences] will not be transferred to a women’s prison unless the Risk Management Team, and subsequently the Executive Panel, are satisfied there is compelling evidence that they do not present an unacceptable risk of harm to those in the women's prison.’ (SPS Policy for the Management of Transgender People in Custody, 5 December 2023).
There were 506 notifications to Police Scotland of sex offenders changing their name from April 2023 to 13 March 2025. This comprises 263 notifications in the financial year 2023-24 and 243 from the start of the 2024-25 financial year until 13/3/2025. (Police Scotland FOI Response, 25 March 2025, available upon request).