Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that he is "concerned" about new controversial gender recognition laws passed by the Scottish Parliament.
Sunak refused to say in an interview with Good Morning Scotland whether the UK Government would stop the Gender Reform Recognition (Scotland) Bill from becoming law.
A Downing Street spokesman said on Thursday the issue was still being looked over fears the Holyrood legislation could impact on the UK-wide Equalities Act.
Tory ministers have until the end of next week to decide whether to issue a Section 35 order - a device used to block devolved laws passed by devolved governments if they cover reserved matters.
Sunak told Good Morning Scotland on Friday: "This is a very sensitive area, and I know there were very robust debates and exchanges on it as the bill was passing in Scotland.
"What I'm concerned about is the impact of the bill across the United Kingdom. And as is entirely standard, the UK government would take advice on that.
"I mean, the fact that you're asking some of these questions consistently demonstrates that there may be impacts across the UK that we need to be aware of and understand the impact of them.
"That's what we're doing and once the government has received final advice that will set out next steps."
MSPs voted to pass the Bill in December. It will remove the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria to obtain a gender recognition certificate (GRC).
It also lowers the minimum age for applicants to 16 and drops the time required for an applicant to live in their acquired gender from two years to three months - six for those aged 16 and 17 - though with a three-month reflection period.
But the passage of the Bill does not mean it becomes law. Scottish Secretary Alister Jack is now able to legally challenge the law if he believes it impacts on the UK. Private groups are also able to take legal action should they wish.
Sunak is on a two-day trip to Scotland in what is his first visit to the country since becoming Prime Minister.
He met with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Thursday evening.
The Prime Minister would not tell Good Morning Scotland out what the democratic route to independence would be for Scotland.
He said: "On Independence obviously, that's something that Nicola Sturgeon I disagree on but what I firmly believe is that people in Scotland want and expect, in fact, both of their governments working right now with relentless focus on the issues that matter to them."
When challenged that half of Scots want independence, Sunak replied: "Right now, I do think everyone acknowledges that all different parts of the United Kingdom, whether that's Scotland or indeed England or Wales, Northern Ireland, are facing challenges.
"For example, in the NHS, we are seeing the impact of Russia's war on Ukraine and what that's doing to our energy supplies and the need for energy security. We can all see the challenges that inflation is bringing on household bills. Those things we should be working on together."
He added: "We've just had a ruling the Scottish Government took this case to the Supreme Court who was completely clear about the ability for the Scottish Government to [have an independence referendum] unilaterally.
"What I want to do is, as you can see, I hope, have a constructive dialogue with the Scottish Government to make sure that we can continue to deliver for the people of Scotland."
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