The Evangelical Alliance has welcomed the Scottish Government's plans to open a new consultation into its plans to change the law on gender recognition. 

However, it said it was "deeply concerning" that the Scottish Government wants to lower the age at which people can change gender from 18 to 16.

The Evangelical Alliance also said "greater clarity" was needed on the proposed reforms to the 2004 Gender Recognition Act, which would enable people to self-declare their gender without the need for medical or psychological requirements.

The changes would also reduce the required time of living in an acquired gender from the current two years to six months, with a three month cooling off period before the legal change is finalised. 

The first consultation received over 15,000 responses but the Scottish Government came under criticism over its failure to carry out an impact assessment on the welfare of women and girls. 

Many responses to the original consultation voiced concerns about the safety of women and girls if single-sex spaces are opened up to transgender people.

The Scottish Government announced on Friday that it was to open a second consultation into its plans and carry out a "comprehensive" Equality Impact Assessment to "ensure that all rights are protected in a balanced way".

The Evangelical Alliance said it was encouraged that the Scottish Government had listened to some of the concerns raised and that it was continuing to engage around the proposals. 

It also welcomed the Scottish Government's surprise decision to no longer recommend controversial transgender guidance for schools.

However, Kieran Turner, public policy officer for Evangelical Alliance Scotland, cautioned against introducing gender self-identification.

"We welcome the new consultation and the fact that the Scottish Government have recognised the need to reflect further in light of the many concerns about this legislation," he said. 

"We also welcome the review of youth guidance and the commitment to retain the existing protections of the Equality Act.

"However, in other areas the government are still looking to press ahead, even if, at a slower pace. While the Scottish Government want to move away from language of self-identification, that is still ultimately what is being proposed.

"Sadly, the government have failed to take the opportunity to clarify that under 18s will not be able to self-identify. We will continue to engage with the Scottish Government on this issue, providing a clear and compassionate Christian response."