Labour minister Bridget Phillipson is blocking the publication of new Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance on women-only spaces after branding the proposals ‘trans-exclusive’.
The Women and Equalities Secretary has refused to sign off the draft guidance more than three months after receiving it, despite a landmark Supreme Court ruling that sex under equality law means biological sex.
The EHRC guidance was drawn up following the court’s decision in April and would require businesses and public bodies to protect single-sex spaces such as women’s lavatories, changing rooms and hospital wards.
However, in a submission to the High Court, Ms Phillipson criticised the draft guidance and made clear she does not support its approach, arguing that it would unfairly exclude transgender women.
She described the proposals as ‘trans-exclusive’ and warned that banning biological males from women’s facilities could have unintended consequences.
Ms Phillipson claimed the guidance could prevent women from taking their infant sons into swimming pool changing rooms and said there were ‘many entirely plausible exceptions’ to single-sex rules.
She also argued that the Supreme Court ruling was primarily concerned with maternity protections rather than blanket restrictions on access to women-only spaces.
Labour minister Bridget Phillipson is blocking the publication of new Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance on women-only spaces after branding the proposals ‘trans-exclusive’. Pictured: Womens Rights supporters protest outside the What Is A Woman trial at the Supreme Court in London
The Women and Equalities Secretary has refused to sign off the draft guidance more than three months after receiving it, despite a landmark Supreme Court ruling that sex under equality law means biological sex
Because the guidance has not been approved, hospitals, businesses and other public bodies remain without clear instructions on how to apply the ruling, with no requirement currently in force to exclude biological males from women’s spaces.
Sir Keir Starmer initially welcomed the Supreme Court judgment, saying it provided ‘clarity’ by confirming that ‘a woman is an adult human female’, but the EHRC’s code of practice has still not been laid before Parliament.
Sources have accused Ms Phillipson of insisting on additional bureaucratic steps that have delayed the process, effectively blocking the guidance from coming into force.
A Government spokesman denied she was obstructing the guidance, saying the document was legally complex and needed careful scrutiny to avoid placing service providers at risk of legal challenge.
However, Conservatives accused the minister of failing to uphold the court’s ruling. Shadow equalities minister Claire Coutinho said the Government was ‘doing everything it can to deny women the right to single-sex spaces’.
Ms Phillipson’s opposition to the guidance emerged in court papers filed as part of a legal challenge brought by the Good Law Project against an interim version of the EHRC’s recommendations.
In those papers, she argued that ‘common sense’ exceptions should apply, including allowing pregnant women to use men’s lavatories to avoid queues or permitting other case-by-case exemptions.
The EHRC submitted its full 300-page draft code to ministers in September and urged approval ‘at speed’, warning that organisations urgently need clarity following the Supreme Court ruling.
A ruling in the High Court case is expected soon, amid growing pressure on ministers to explain when – or whether – the guidance on women-only spaces will be approved.
