MINISTERS are poised to shelve plans to make it simpler for people to change their gender.

A consultation by the Scottish Government on the proposed changes ended on Tuesday and legislation was expected to be introduced imminently, allowing it to pass through Holyrood and become law before the May 2021 poll.

But it is understood the timescale is now on hold amid the coronavirus outbreak and the pressure on the Scottish Government to address the health and economic crisis as well as the blanket closure of schools.

A considerable amount of Holyrood time is to be taken up in the coming weeks with both Scottish and UK Government emergency legislation to deal with the pandemic.

Senior SNP insiders have told The National the gender recognition reform legislation one of a number of bills expected to be “pushed into the long grass” in the wake of the current public health situation, which is expected to continue until the summer. Read more via National