EHRC Single-Sex Spaces Code Takes Effect After Supreme Court Ruling
The updated code says single-sex facilities must follow birth sex, and PA estimates nearly 13,000 toilets and 5,000 changing rooms may need changes.
- On Wednesday, the Equality and Human Rights Commission implemented new guidance requiring single-sex toilets, changing rooms, and hospital wards across Britain to operate based on biological sex rather than gender identity.
- The changes follow an April 2025 Supreme Court ruling establishing that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex, which the code now clarifies applies to everyday service situations under the Equality Act 2010.
- Press Association analysis suggests nearly 13,000 toilets and more than 5,000 changing rooms may require revamping, with at least 18,000 signs needing changes; public-sector bodies face estimated costs of £20.6 million for cleaning and £14.2 million annually for building work.
- Reform UK equalities spokeswoman Suella Braverman said the government had been "dragged kicking and screaming" into protecting women's-only spaces, while Kate Nevens MSP of the Scottish Greens warned the guidance will "shut trans people out" of services.
- Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson expects "further debate, challenge, scrutiny" in this contested space, though campaigners at TransActual confirmed trans people remain protected from discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.
47 Articles
47 Articles
NHS and Cabinet Office Trade Blame Over Single-Sex Space Rules
The NHS is refusing to give a date for implementing new single-sex space guidance, leaving rules that let transgender patients choose their ward in place two days after the EHRC published its code on protected spaces. You’d think medical professionals would have a clear understanding of biological sex… Existing guidance tells staff to accommodate patients…
Alberto Gonçalves comments on the practical applications, established by a new "code of conduct", of the judgment of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, which decided that there are only two biological sex
New guidance on single-sex spaces in the UK
Updated guidance on single-sex public spaces came into force across most of the UK on Wednesday, despite opposition from trans-rights groups and many MPs.The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s new code of practice says people must use facilities such as toilets and changing rooms according to their biological sex. It was updated following the Supreme Court judgment last April, which ruled that the terms “man”, “woman” and “sex” under the 201…
The Advocate
Out MagazineGreat Britain now bars trans people from many public bathrooms and changing rooms
Use of single-sex toilets, changing rooms and hospital wards in England, Scotland and Wales is now restricted according to a person’s birth sex, rather than the gender with which they identify.
Since Wednesday, toilets, changing rooms and hospital units must now be used according to the sex of birth. Activists fear a decline in access to care and public space.
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