The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 repealed all criminal provisions regarding homosexuality; setting an equal age of consent for sexual activity between men.

MSPs voted by 105 to 18 in favour of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill.
Establishes belief ceremonies, such as humanist ceremonies as a "third form of marriage", alongside religious and civil events.
Allowing transgender people to stay married, rather than having to get divorced, when obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate.
Amended guidance on the teaching of the issue in schools.
The first same-sex marriages were allowed to take place December 16, 2014.

The infamous section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 was repealed by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003.

Per the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (in effect 2005) in all four constituent countries of the UK. The requirements are as follows:
1. Must be 18 years of age
2. Must have a gender-dysphoria diagnosis
3. Must intend "to continue to live in the acquired gender until death"
4. Has lived in the acquired gender for at least 2 years.
5. If married: must acquire the consent of the spouse.

Eligibility is determined by a Gender Recognition Panel and if approved then one is granted a gender recognition certificate and may change the gender marker on legal documents.

On May 29th 2024, the UK voted to "close the loophole" by banning private care physicians as well as prescribers registered in the European Economic Area or Switzerland from prescribing puberty blockers to children for gender incongruence. Those who already had a prescription can continue their treatment.

This measure originally was meant to last from June 3rd until September 3rd, but was extended twice and is now indefinite. It extends to Scotland and Northern Ireland as well (The Sinn Fein gov agreed to follow it and medicines powers are reserved to the UK)

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 allows for a person to change their legal gender to either 'male' or 'female', there is no third gender option. The law came into effect on 4 April 2005.

In 2021, the UK government said (in response to a petition) that legal recognition of non-binary gender identity would have "complex practical consequences for other areas of the law, service provision and public life", and said that they felt existing legislation allowing people to change their legal gender went far enough. Courts have, however, ruled that people with non-binary identities are protected from discrimination by the Equality Act.

On 4 October 2023, then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asserted his stance on gender identity in a speech at the Conservative Party conference, stating it was “common sense” that “a man is a man and a woman is a woman”.

In January 2024, the High Court in London ruled that (in the case of a US citizen trying to have their non-binary identity recognised in the UK), "We have decided that whenever the Gender Recognition Act refers to ‘gender’ it refers to a binary concept – that is, to male, or to female gender. The GRP [Gender Recognition Panel] accordingly, had and has no power to issue a gender recognition certificate to the claimant which says that they are ‘non-binary’".

The act applied to the entire UK, and Scotland's attempts to recognise non-binary genders have all failed.

LGBT discrimination in the United Kingdom of Great Britain is illegal, as per the Equality Act of 2010. Sexual orientation and gender identity are covered as protected groups by the Equality Act.
The Act simplifies, strengthens and harmonises the current legislation to provide Britain with a new discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society.

The Equality Act of 2010 extends to Scotland. In 2024, Scotland revised its hate crime law to explicitly include gender identity and sexual orientation.

The Equality Act 2010 makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate against any employee on the grounds of many things, including sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Equality Act 2010 made it illegal for any public or private landlord to discriminate against tenants due to many things, including sexual orientation and gender identity.

The 2002 adoption act, which did not take effect until the next year, specifically defined a couple as: "two people (whether of different sexes or the same sex) living as partners in an enduring family relationship", expressly permitting same-sex adoption.

In the UK it is illegal to perform medical treatment onto any person without consent. For infants, consent is given by their parents on their behalf under the Children’s Act

The Ministry of Defence were forced to change their stance on when the European Court of Human Rights ruled in September 1999 that the then current ban on gays in the military was unlawful.

In line with the rest of the UK, Scotland abolished sexuality-specific policies in recruiting blood donors.

UK law does not currently prohibit conversion therapy in any way. Conversion therapy bans have been discussed for many years. PM Boris Johnson promised to ban conversion therapy in July 2020 and this was reiterated in 2021. In March 2022, the plans were dropped, only for a partial U-turn just hours later when the government announced that the ban would go ahead but not cover trans people. On January 17 2023, the government announced they'd pass a new law to include transgender people in the conversion therapy ban.

In July of 2024, new prime minister Kier Starmer announced his government would put forward a bill to ban conversion therapy. This ban would include sexual orientation and gender identity. As of March 2025, this bill is yet to be introduced.

The age of consent is 16 (or 18 for those in a position of authority) for all couples.