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Equalities minister to publish official guidance after ordering ‘tweaks’
Bridget Phillipson will finally publish guidance on single-sex spaces
Credit: Zeynep Demir/Anadolu via Getty Images
Daniel MartinDeputy Political EditorShow biography
20 May 2026 8:38pm BST
Trans women must be barred from female toilets, changing facilities and sports teams, new official guidance is to state.
Bridget Phillipson is expected to confirm on Thursday that official guidance will state what businesses and public bodies must do under the law to protect single-sex spaces.
The guidance follows last year’s Supreme Court judgment that trans women, who were born male, are not legally women for the purposes of the Equality Act.
The equalities minister’s failure to publish ituntil now has meant that hospitals and leisure centres are still allowing trans women into female spaces.
The guidance was written by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and submitted to Ms Phillipson in September, but she requested several revisions before agreeing to publish it.
It is understood the EHRC has agreed to make a number of “tweaks”, including adding more examples on how organisations can ensure trans people have access to toilets and changing rooms while ensuring women’s facilities remain single-sex.
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Women’s rights groups said that while they did not expect major changes, they would be looking very carefully at the examples to ensure they did indeed protect single-sex services.
Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at Sex Matters, called on public bodies to stop dragging their feet and implement the guidance.
“There never was any reason for employers and service providers to wait for this guidance before implementing the law,” she told The Telegraph.
“The Supreme Court was completely clear that when providing single sex spaces and services, sex has to mean sex – male and female.
“But once the EHRC’s new statutory guidance has been published, all delaying tactics must be over.
“All the organisations – including the NHS, local councils and government departments – which fell for the lie that equality law required them to allow people to self-identify their sex must now rewrite legally flawed policies.”
Campaigners, including Helen Joyce, left, celebrated the Supreme Court judgement in April last year
Credit: Richard Baker/In Pictures via Getty Images
The update to the EHRC’s code of practice – the official name for the guidance – was required after the Supreme Court ruled last April that the words “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.
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It applies to any organisation providing services to the public, including shops, gyms, government departments, the NHS, policing, prisons, hotels, restaurants, theatres, cinemas and hospitals.
The guidance also covers private organisations or charities delivering public services, such as care homes acting on behalf of a council or privately run leisure centres.
It is understood that one version of the guidance said organisations would be able to question trans people over whether they should be using single-sex services based on how they look, their behaviour or concerns raised by others.
Mary-Ann Stephenson, the EHRC chairman, said in December that the guidance would give advice on ensuring “there are services provided for people who can’t or don’t want to use the services for their biological sex”.
Sources close to Ms Phillipson said last month that she had asked the EHRC to ensure there was clarity for all kinds of services and that the code was accessible and robust. “We have always supported the protection of single-sex spaces based on biological sex,” a source said.
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In April, Baroness Falkner, the former EHRC chairman, told The Telegraph she believed Ms Phillipson was putting her “personal ambition” before her role as women and equalities minister over fears that pro-trans backbenchers would scupper any chance of promotion if she published the guidance.
However, on Wednesday, government sources confirmed that the code would finally be laid before MPs on Thursday, before Parliament enters recess. It is the first time it has been updated since 2011.
Alexandra Parmar-Yee, the director of Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, said the guidance must ensure trans people are protected as she described law as “a mess”.
“The earlier draft of this guidance encouraged the policing of everyone’s gender based on appearance and was focused entirely on excluding trans people,” she said.
“It is vital that any new guidance ditches this and provides clarity and confidence for services and associations to keep operating on a trans-inclusive basis, as the majority do, and protects trans people’s participation in public life.
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“Anything less will put trans people’s safety and dignity at risk on a daily basis, and will leave this government with a toxic legacy on LGBTQ+ rights.”