The Government has been accused of delaying the publication of crucial guidance on single-sex spaces, with conflicting accounts emerging regarding when draft advice was received from the equalities watchdog.
Baroness Kishwer Falkner of Margravine, who recently concluded her tenure as chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), told The Times that the Government has possessed draft guidance since April.
This contradicts Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden’s assertion that the advice was only received in September.
Baroness Falkner criticised the Government for its failure to publish statutory guidance following the Supreme Court’s April ruling.
That judgment clarified that the terms “woman” and “sex” within the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.
Mr McFadden has said that the Supreme Court judgment “will be implemented” but declined to provide an “arbitrary date” for its publication. He maintained that the Government had received the EHRC’s draft guidance in September.
Organisations across the country are still awaiting the updated guidance, which requires ministerial approval before it can be laid in Parliament. Once presented, a 40-day period must elapse before the code comes into force.
This proposed code of practice is intended to inform businesses and other organisations on the provision of single and separate-sex services, including facilities such as toilets and changing rooms.
Baroness Falkner told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: “They’ve had it since April, the 8th of April, to be exact.
“It’s not only about sex and gender. It’s an update on the 2011 code – which I think you probably wrote – which is way out of date, 14 years out of date, in nine protected characteristics: disability, age, race, the whole gamut.
“They had the whole thing. We spent two years on it from 2022, they had the whole thing on the 8th of April.”
She added: “So the Supreme Court verdict was on 16th April, a few days after we gave it in to them, but they worked on it. They knew we were going to update 10 per cent – 10 per cent of 315 pages. That’s all we needed to update in terms of the Supreme Court verdict.
“They responded on 30th June with several proposals, devolved administration saying this and that, ‘would you like to look again at this example or that example?’”
Sky journalist Sir Trevor was the founding chair of the EHRC from 2006 to 2012.
Baroness Falkner also told the programme: “Let me make it clear for your viewers: the guidance is just a navigational tool. The law of the land was determined on the 16th of April, nearly eight months now.
“All the guidance does is say to a service provider that if you have a shopping centre in this part and you’re offering these toilets, if you want to offer single-sex spaces, they must do x, and if you want to offer unisex spaces, they must do y.
“It’s a practical navigational tool. It is not the law.”
Mr McFadden denied that the Government was stalling on publishing guidance.
He told the programme: “This is about getting it right.
“The Supreme Court has clarified the situation, but the guidance will have to apply across a whole range of sectors and organisations.
“It’s important to get this right, because if you don’t get it right, organisations will end up in further legal jeopardy.”
He said the Government had draft guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission since September.
He added: “The bottom line is the Supreme Court judgment will be implemented, that will mean change.”
Asked when the guidance would be published, Mr McFadden said: “We’ll get it right, rather than give an arbitrary date.”
