Minister blames 'slow' watchdog for trans guidance delay

Bridget Phillipson has blamed delays in publishing new guidance on single-sex spaces on the equalities watchdog's "slow" response to government requests for further information.

The women and equalities minister told BBC Two's Politics Live the guidance would be published "as soon as possible" but refused to give a specific date, saying she had a responsibility to deal with the issue "thoroughly and carefully".

The new code of practice was submitted to the government by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) for ministerial approval in September.

The EHRC said it was convinced the guidance was "both legally accurate and as clear as it is possible to be".

"The EHRC remain ready to provide any evidence we can that would materially assist the minister's approval," it added.

In October the watchdog urged Phillipson to speed up her approval, saying some organisations were using old guidance, which is unlawful.

The 300-page document was drawn up by the EHRC after the Supreme Court unanimously ruled last year that legally a woman should be defined by biological sex for the purposes of the Equality Act.

The Conservatives accused Phillipson of "trying to pass the buck" and called on her to "take responsibility for her own inaction".

Labour ministers were doing "all they can to avoid implementing" the Supreme Court's ruling, added shadow equalities minister Claire Coutinho.

The EHRC has to provide practical advice to businesses and services - such as counselling sessions for female domestic violence survivors, gyms, hospitals or shopping centres - about how this should work.

The ruling said that for a space to be single-sex it can only be open to people of the same biological sex, otherwise it is effectively a mixed sex space.

For example a trans woman – a biological male who identifies as a woman - would not be able to use women's toilets and changing rooms.

Asked why the publication of the guidance had been delayed, Phillipson told the BBC: "I asked the EHRC for information that I needed to inform that decision.

"That unfortunately was slow in being forthcoming."

She added: "I asked for the information you would expect routinely as part of this process, for example an equalities impact assessment, that the EHRC just checks that this doesn't mean a burden on business.

"This doesn't have to be a long and drawn out process. I'm determined to do this properly but I absolutely am committed to making sure that women, whether it's in rape crises centres, women's refuges, or in access to other provisions and accommodations, have got what they need to feel safe."

She said "we're making progress" and the watchdog's new chairwoman Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, who took on the role in December, was "going to do a fantastic job".

In a letter to Phillipson last year, the EHRC's then-chairwoman, Baroness Falkner, said the watchdog had provided additional information requested by the government, including an Equality Impact Assessment, on 13 October.

Some Labour MPs have previously raised concerns about interim guidance issued by the EHRC in April last year, with 32 writing to the watchdog to warn it would "open the door to discrimination and harassment against trans people".

The interim advice was withdrawn by the watchdog in October.

By that point, the new full guidance had been delivered to the government for consideration.

A copy, seen by the BBC but not published officially, suggested trans people could be asked about whether they should be accessing single-sex services based on their physical appearance or behaviour.

It also says it may be legitimate for businesses or services to ask people to provide confirmation they are of the eligible sex "by proportionate means".

The guidance says that if a transgender person is excluded from a space, the organisation should consider alternatives and that it would not be proportionate to leave the person without essential services, such as toilets.

The code of practice can only gain legal force once it has been signed off by ministers and has been laid in Parliament for 40 days.

If ministers decide to reject the guidance, the EHRC can offer a revised version for approval or try to persuade the government to change its decision.

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