Minister for Women and Equalities (): This government has
always supported the protection of single-sex spaces based on
biological sex. The Supreme Court's ruling last year brought
clarity for women and service providers such as hospitals and
refuges, and made clear that protections for trans people remain
in the Equality Act.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is the
independent equality regulator and ensures compliance with the
Equality Act 2010. Their Code of Practice on Services, Public
Functions and Associations covers all nine protected
characteristics and the steps service providers should take to
comply with the law. We share the EHRC's commitment to ensuring
duty bearers have accurate and up-to-date guidance on the
Equality Act 2010 including in the light of the recent Court
rulings.
We are grateful to the EHRC for their work on the updated draft
Code following engagement and further legal analysis. The EHRC is
rightly focussed on ensuring the updated Code is robust,
accessible and ensures duty bearers can be confident that it is a
clear and accurate explanation of the law.
The government received the updated draft on 13 April. The Code
will apply across Great Britain and as we are currently in the
pre-election period for the devolved administrations, we are
unable to make further announcements on this matter at this time.
However, we are taking urgent action to meet our intention of
laying the Code in May and as soon as practicable after the
election period, for Parliamentary scrutiny.
We are getting it right, showing leadership by implementing the
clarity the Supreme Court ruling delivers.
