NHS warned it will be ‘pursued’ if it doesn’t change gender policies

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has warned that the NHS will be ‘pursued’ if it doesn’t change its gender policies on single-sex spaces.

Following this week’s Supreme Court ruling that the 2010 Equality Act’s definition of a woman is defined by biological sex, public bodies – including the health service – will be receiving new guidelines. 

The NHS currently allows trans people to be treated in accordance with their affirmed gender, so new rules could have implications for spaces such as changing rooms.

And now, the BBC has quoted EHRC chairwoman Baroness Kishwer Falkner as saying: “We’ve been speaking to the health service for an inordinately long time, we will now be asking them when they will be updating their advice.

She told the Today programme that the EHRC would “pursue” the NHS if it failed to align with its updated code of conduct, adding: “We will be having those conversations with them to update that guidance.” 

An NHS spokesperson said the guidance was being reviewed and the process “will consider and take into account all relevant legislation and the Supreme Court ruling”.

Despite the ruling, Gender Recognition Certificates (GRCs) remain valid. However, Falkner has suggested that the next stage of litigation could involve testing the legal efficacy of the documents.

Thanks to the 2004 Gender Recognition Act, GRCs allow transgender men and women to be recognised by how they identify if that does not match their gender assigned at birth. But individuals can only be recognised as male or female, because non-binary genders are not legally recognised in the UK.

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