UK Supreme Court – recovery of costs
We are pleased to confirm that full and final settlement has been reached with the Scottish Ministers regarding recovery of costs incurred in pursuing the judicial review all the way to the UK Supreme Court. We have received a total of £392,500 (£150,000 for the Court of Session part of the case and £242,500 for the Supreme Court part). The funds have been retained in a deposit account with Balfour+Manson solicitors and will be used to cover the costs of our current judicial review on prison guidance, plus any future legal action necessary to ensure the Scottish Government complies with the law.
We are eternally grateful for the overwhelming public support that enabled us to successfully challenge the Scottish Government’s unlawful actions and to clarify that “woman”, “man” and “sex” have always taken their biological meaning in the Equality Act 2010.
Costs incurred by the Scottish Government:
FWS1:
Judicial review of the definition of “woman” in the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018.
Result: Won by FWS at the Court of Session Inner House, 18 February 2022 (Judgment)
| FWS1 | |
|---|---|
| Scottish Government’s legal costs (see FOI) | £68,682.50 |
| Costs paid to FWS | £147,500.00 |
| Total | £216,182.50 |
FWS2:
Judicial review of the definition of “woman” in the Statutory Guidance for the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 and the Equality Act 2010.
Result: Won by FWS at the UK Supreme Court, 16 April 2025 (Judgment)
| FWS2 | |
|---|---|
| Scottish Government’s legal costs (see FOI) | £171,615.30 |
| Costs paid to FWS | £392,500.00 |
| Total | £564,115.30 |
In total, the Scottish Government spent £780,297.80 of taxpayers money on these two judicial reviews.
Update 16 February 2026:
The Scottish Government has now published its final legal costs for FWS2. The table above has been updated accordingly.
Update 22 February 2026:
As reported by the Daily Record, the costs incurred by the Scottish Government in our ongoing judicial review of the Scottish Prison Service Policy for the Management of Transgender People in Custody are, as of 09 January 2026, £134,104.50.
This brings the total Scottish Government spend to date on the three judicial reviews brought by FWS to £914,402.30.
The Scottish Government also spent £370,474.24 challenging the Section 35 Order which prevented the Gender Recognition Reform Bill becoming law.
This brings the total Scottish Government spend to date on legal actions attempting to dismantle women’s rights to £1,284,876.54.