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) | £157,816.30 * |
| Costs paid to FWS | £392,500.00 |
| Total | £550,316.30 |
* This is not the final figure and is expected to rise slightly to reflect the legal work in settling FWS’s costs.
In total, the Scottish Government spent £766,498.80 of taxpayers money on these two judicial reviews.