Asked by
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to issue
guidance on data to be collected throughout the criminal justice
system by sex, as registered at birth, not gender identity, to
ensure consistency of crime statistics across England and Wales.
(Con)
Home Office guidance states that police forces should record an
individual's sex in the legal sense that is based on their birth
certificate or gender recognition certificate. Separately, an
individual's gender identity can be collected. The Government
have commissioned an independent review into the recording of
data on biological sex and gender identity by public bodies and
in research. The review is due to report in August and will
inform our future approach to recording.
(Non-Afl)
I am glad to hear from the Minister, who I know is sincere on
this, that the Government are taking this seriously, because
accurate statistics are vital for evidence-based criminal justice
policy. First, can I press the Minister to agree that, at
present, official crime data is not accurate, credible or
consistent? FoI requests to countrywide police forces reveal that
they use a wide variety of differing recording practices;
commonly record self-declared gender identity instead of birth
sex, which is not the same as on your birth certificate; and that
suspected and even convicted male rapists are recorded as female
if they say that they are women.
Secondly, does such dubious data undermine public trust in the
believability of crime figures, and hinder voters in informed
debates about criminal justice? This is especially important in
the lead-up to the elections for local police and crime
commissioners.
(Con)
My Lords, in answer to these concerns, the Government have
recently commissioned Professor Alice Sullivan to conduct an
independent review of data collection on biological sex and
gender in research and statistics within public bodies. This will
report back by August 2024. The Home Office will thoroughly
review Professor Sullivan's findings when they are available, and
will take any necessary action to ensure accuracy with regard to
police statistics.
The Home Office annual data requirement for police custody, ADR
149, which is a mandatory collection, requires police forces to
record the sex of detainees. In providing data to compile the
Home Office's homicide index, police forces are required to
record a suspect's sex—male, female or not known. The suspect's
gender is recorded separately, and only if it is different from
their sex.
(Con)
My Lords, anyone, including a convicted criminal, can change name
and gender, and then obtain a new passport and driving licence
and, in effect, change identity for most practical purposes.
Ordinarily, in the case of persons who have changed gender, the
DBS certificate will display their acquired gender. Is my noble
friend the Minister satisfied that it is not possible for a
passport and driving licence to be reissued to show the new name
and acquired gender—thereby to be presented by the holder to
defeat an effective DBS check?
(Con)
My Lords, the Government are satisfied with the steps they are
taking. Some offenders, including sex offenders, are required to
notify their personal details to the police, with a record of
their national insurance number as well as their name, date of
birth and bank details. It is a criminal offence not to notify
the authorities. Similar provisions apply to registered violent
offenders and terrorists. Additionally, the police may place
flags with His Majesty's Passport Office on offenders deemed to
pose a risk to the public. Where a registered sex offender
notified to HMPO in this manner applies for a passport, or to
change their name, HMPO will consult the police before any
passport is issued or name change agreed.
(LD)
My Lords, would changing the whole system of crime recording,
throughout the criminal justice system, not involve an inordinate
amount of effort for very little return? I take the point the
Minister made about an investigatory review of how recording is
done, and I welcome that. Would it not also contravene the
Equality Act 2010 and the human rights of anyone with a gender
recognition certificate? Does the Minister agree with me that the
whole criminal justice system should have other priorities on how
it spends its limited resources?
(Con)
My Lords, I see no reason why this needs to contradict the
Equality Act, which is clear: it provides protection against
discrimination, harassment and victimisation across a number of
grounds known as the protected characteristics. We are committed
to upholding Britain's long-standing record of protecting the
rights of individuals against unlawful discrimination. We keep
any uncommenced provisions in the Act under review, and we are
confident that the review that we have commissioned—reporting by
August—will be consistent with the law.
of Shulbrede (Lab)
My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Fox, has raised this question
on a number of occasions, and the Minister's answer has been
similar, where he has pointed to reviews by the UK Statistics
Authority and other experts. Does the Minister agree with me that
the issue of data collection goes wider than sex and gender
identity? I am thinking particularly of how one's parentage is
recorded, when there are mothers, fathers, sperm donors, egg
donors and birth mothers. This is a live issue, where one's
parentage is recorded. Will the UK statistics review take into
account these additional complicating factors when considering
how data is recorded and presented?
(Con)
My Lords, while I am grateful for the noble Lord's question, it
requires more detail and goes beyond the brief that I have today,
so I will write to him.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, I welcome the review, and we all look forward to the
results in August. Can the Minister tell us how we would make
sure that the review will apply to the whole of the United
Kingdom, including Northern Ireland?
(Con)
My Lords, I apologise, but I need to take that back to the
department. I will then write to the noble Baroness.
(Con)
My Lords, on gender data and empirical inquiries, will the
Minister give the House an undertaking that we will never again
have a situation, as we did with the Cass review, where NHS
trusts and clinicians wilfully refused to release data to the
inquiry, which was in the public interest and good?
(Con)
My Lords, I am afraid that it is not for me to give that
undertaking. I will have to take that back to the department and
write.
