More than half of Scotland’s local authorities face court challenges over controversial guidance on transgender pupils in schools

Seventeen councils, including Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, have been threatened with legal action by parents supported by the Christian Institute, a group that successfully challenged the Scottish government’s named persons legislation.

Lawyers for the group claim the guidance, produced by LGBT Youth Scotland and funded by the Scottish government, could mislead teachers and schools into thinking that equality law gives “absolute rights” to transgender people “to the exclusion of the rights of other service users”.

The charity is demanding to know the steps taken by councils to check the guidance’s compatibility with equality law and the Human Rights Act. A letter sent by lawyers acting for the