Health secretary Neil Gray refuses to back nurse Sandie Peggie in transgender tribunal
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00:00Hello I'm Rachel, I'm the Political Correspondent at the Scotsman. I'm here at Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline
00:06where the Health Secretary Neil Gray is just inside this building meeting some
00:09people from the Red Cross. Now this was a private visit, it wasn't an official
00:14ministerial visit. We thought it was important to come here to try and talk
00:17to him about the ongoing case of the nurse Sandy Peggy and Dr. Beth Upton and NHS Fife.
00:24All centred around single-sex spaces and what the guidance is for public bodies when it comes to
00:29things like toilets and changing rooms. So we asked him a few questions just before he went in to go and see the Red Cross.
00:35He refused to back Sandy Peggy in the ongoing employment tribunal saying it's an ongoing case that he cannot get involved in.
00:42And he also says he has full confidence in the NHS Fife bosses and doesn't believe that they need to be changed at all.
00:48We did try and ask him if he believes that the lack of clarity from the government on this issue is what has led to this situation.
00:55But he kind of gave a bit of a waffle, didn't give a very clear answer there either.
00:59And this all comes on the back of yesterday when we saw some quite angry scenes in the Scottish Parliament
01:04when the opposition parties tried to get Neil Gray to give a ministerial statement on this guidance and it was voted down.
01:12So this is on the back of that and that's why we're here today.
01:18Sandy Peggy's been threatened with a suck by NHS Fife. Do you have any concerns about how she's been treated?
01:24So I think that's obviously a process for NHS Fife to deal with. I'm not here to comment on that.
01:29I don't think it would be fair or right for me to do so.
01:32The process that's underway both in terms of the tribunal and any disciplinary process is live so it wouldn't be fair for me to comment on that.
01:38Do you accept that the government's lack of clarity on single-sex spaces is what has led to this situation?
01:43We've provided guidance to the system in terms of making sure that they are...
01:47What is that guidance exactly?
01:49We've provided the guidance that makes...
01:50What is that guidance though? What exactly does the guidance say?
01:53All public bodies should be applying the Equality Act to respect the terms of the Equality Act both in terms of single-sex spaces and trans rights
02:03and making sure that those are respected as they are within the Equality Act and we expect public bodies to adhere to that.
02:11Is that guidance already been issued and it's very clear as you guys have been saying? Why have we got this situation then?
02:16Well obviously there's a live tribunal process underway and that needs to be respected and I won't be commenting further on that.
02:22That's for the process to take its course and I want that to take its course before we can consider anything further off of that.
02:28Health Secretary, JK Rowling backed calls for you to quote grow a spine and sack the leadership of NHS Fife.
02:35Will you grow a spine and do exactly that?
02:37I think the process has got to be respected and both in terms of any disciplinary process that there may be and indeed the employment tribunal
02:46and obviously we'll take considerations off the back of that and I've got no further comment to make on that.
02:51Do you have confidence in the leadership of NHS Fife?
02:53Of course I do.
02:54And can I just ask, on the Niobus report coming out tomorrow, it says that there's going to be a freeze or a real-terms freeze in health spending.
03:01That goes against everything that the Government and the First Minister have said.
03:04You're doing with health and demonstrate you're doing it with priorities in the right place.
03:08Well no, we have prioritised health and social care within this budget.
03:13That's demonstrable in terms of the increase that we've provided, the £21.7 billion that's coming through health and social care.
03:20Obviously the IFS report, if that's something that's to come out tomorrow, then I will look and see what the terms of that are and we'll respond to that accordingly.
03:27I'm very clear that this Government is prioritising health and social care.
03:30That comes from the £21.7 billion that we're investing.
03:34A record level, a record increase to health and social care spending.
03:38One that I'm confident to get behind and deliver against.