New Single-Sex Space Guidance Takes Effect Across UK
Updated EHRC code on trans people in sport and hospital wards sparks legal threats and financial concerns for councils.
Image: Eddie Pollard / AI
Carla Rooney
New guidance on single-sex spaces came into force across the UK today.
Updated guidance now dictates who can use changing rooms, toilets, and refuges in sports facilities and hospital wards.
The EHRC threatens legal action against any council failing to implement these new directives.
Women and equalities minister Bridget Phillipson clarified in May that the Supreme Court ruling established biological sex as the definition under the Equality Act, while still affirming protections for trans people.
Over 160 MPs, including more than 90 Labour backbenchers, signed a 'prayer' motion attempting to block the code.
Leaders from Hackney, Haringey, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, and Waltham Forest councils expressed concerns the new code will be perceived as an attack on trans, non-binary, and intersex individuals.
Trans organisations across the UK claim the code represents a significant setback for trans rights.
Alexandra Parmar-Yee states it is the UK Government’s flagship policy for the trans community, calling it chaotic, unworkable, and cruel.
Parmar-Yee further claims this policy leaves the UK isolated, no longer fulfilling its human rights commitments; Jess O’Thomson asserts the code is unlawful and completely against human rights.
The Trans Advocacy and Complaints Collective declared, "We refuse to accept a future in which our rights are dismantled piece by piece while those responsible insist that nothing fundamental has changed."
They also stated, "Our rights are not a political bargaining chip. Our lives are not up for debate. Our existence is not something that can be negotiated away."
Service providers bear responsibility for enforcing these new rules, which could necessitate new signage for at least 18,000 services.
Councils could face a £20.6 million bill for cleaning new facilities and an additional £14.2 million annually for constructing new single-sex spaces.
Unisex services, such as self-contained lockable cubicles, remain available to both genders under the new guidance.
A government spokesperson claims the government is committed to upholding single-sex spaces while simultaneously protecting the rights of trans people.
The spokesperson further claims clear laws are in place to protect trans people from discrimination and harassment, which the government continues to uphold.