9. Miss McIlveen asked the Minister of Finance for his assessment of whether there is any conflict in the Civil Service and other public bodies funding lobby groups for training and resources. (AQO 2012/22-27)

The Civil Service is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to building a diverse and inclusive Civil Service that reflects the society that we serve. Learning and development for the Civil Service is provided through various sources, including external groups identified as subject matter experts and corporate memberships aligned to section 75 groups. It is appropriate to adopt an approach that ensures that learning and development resources for the Civil Service include subject matter expertise and/or lived experience insight. Each public body has its own arrangements for training provision to address the learning needs of its organisation.

Miss McIlveen for a quick supplementary.

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank the Minister for his answer. The Civil Service and some other public bodies have been members of the Stonewall diversity champions programme since July 2018 run by the lobby group Stonewall, providing access to training and resources. While the annual spend of £2,575 is small, the impact can be huge. Given that Stonewall's stated position that a man who has transitioned is a woman —

Be quick.

— has been rejected by the Supreme Court as wrong in law, will the Minister recognise the conflict that arises in that situation and ensure that the Civil Service and other public bodies withdraw from that programme?

As quickly as possible, Minister, please.

As I said in my answer, it is vital that, when we provide training to our Civil Service colleagues, people with lived experience also provide that training. Stonewall and all other organisations will be treated the same way when it comes to bidding for funding etc. I will not discriminate against any group. We run an inclusive Civil Service, and it will remain that way.

Members, that ends the period for listed questions. We now move on to 15 minutes of topical questions. Questions 4 and 7 have been withdrawn.