From Sex Matters
What’s the problem?
The Data Bill will establish a new “information gateway” between public authorities and online apps which enable people to prove who they are and facts about themselves. If you want to see how this will work, try the Post Office’s Easy IDon your phone.
It relies on data from sources such as the Passport Office and driving-licence authority as “proof” of sex. But these public authorities have not kept their data accurate. They allow men to be marked as “F” and women to be marked as “M”.
Unless the Data Bill is amended to block inaccurate data sources from being used to “prove” sex, it will bake in these practices. Gender identity is not recognised in law, but the new law will allow it to erase sex in practice, and make it impossible to implement the Equality Act and protect single-sex spaces. This is gender self-ID by the back door.
The amendment to solve the problem
An amendment that would solve the problem (NC21 Directions to public authorities on recording of sex data) has been proposed by Dr Ben Spencer MP.
It is based on the principle that public authorities should not be allowed to provide digital “proof” of sex data unless they are able to do so reliably. Currently, just one source is accurate: the record of births held by the General Register Office/ National Records of Scotland (since this original source cannot be changed, even with a gender-recognition certificate). This is what should be used whenever accurate data about a person’s sex is needed.
You can read more about the amendment in our briefing.
sex-matters.org/posts/updates/urgent-action-email-your-mp-today-on-the-data-bill/