Government to publish same-sex space guidance after May elections

The long-awaited guidance on same-sex spaces will now be published next month, after the elections on 7th May. The guidance covers the use of same-sex spaces, such as toilets and changing rooms, for transgender people.

In April last year the UK’s supreme court ruled that the term ‘sex’ in the 2010 Equality Act refers to biological sex (sometime called ‘sex at birth’). As a result the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have worked to revise their guidance to organisations about applying the equalities law. Draft guidance was given to the government in September, but has since undergone changes.

A new draft of the guidance was submitted on Monday, but election rules mean that the government is “unable to make further announcements on the matter at this time” according to Equalities Minister, Brigit Phillipson. In a written statement to MPs, she went on to say that the government was taking “urgent action” to bring the guidance to Parliament after the elections on 7th May.

Once the guidance has been approved by the government, it will be presented to Parliament for 40 days, after which it will become statutory guidance unless either MPs or Lords pass a motion to reject it.

Chair of the EHRC, Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, said that they had received a “narrow set of comments” from the government and made changes based on these, as well as legal advice. She said that the changes “aim to strengthen duty bearers' understanding of the law and how it applies across a range of the scenarios they encounter day-to-day,” and that the updated guidance would ensure “all service users are treated with dignity and respect, in line with the Equality Act”.

Phillipson said that the government supported the use of single-sex spaces based on biological sex, but that the Supreme Court decision also made clear that there were protections for transgender persons within the Equality Act.

CEO of Sex Matters, Maya Forstater, said that the delay in publishing the guidance was causing harm to women, adding: “It's extraordinary that a year after the Supreme Court judgement, and seven months after the independent regulator first submitted its Code of Practice, the government has found another excuse for delaying the guidance”.

Following the local elections in England, and national elections in Scotland and Wales, Parliament will not reconvene until the State Opening of Parliament on 13th May. They will break again for recess on 21st May until 1st June.