The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has issued updated guidance stating that single-sex toilets and changing rooms in England, Wales and Scotland must be reserved for people based on their biological sex, excluding transgender men and women. The code of practice follows a landmark Supreme Court ruling in April 2025 that sex in the Equality Act refers only to biological sex.
The guidance applies to public bodies, businesses and service providers, requiring them to offer practical alternatives such as gender-neutral toilets for those who do not wish to use facilities matching their biological sex. In healthcare, trans patients must be accommodated on single-sex wards according to their biological sex, though the code says it would not be proportionate to exclude a trans man from obstetrics and gynaecology outpatient services based on other patients' objections.
The EHRC chair, Mary-Ann Stephenson, said the Supreme Court was clear that separate toilets for women and men must be based on biological sex. She called for a wider conversation about how to make services work in practice, citing examples such as women's refuges offering a variety of accommodation options.
Trans advocacy groups criticised the guidance, with the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance director Alexandra Parmar-Yee calling it 'a section 28 moment for this Labour government' and warning it could push trans people out of public life. In contrast, For Women Scotland, the gender-critical campaign group that brought the original case, described it as 'a significant milestone in ensuring women's rights are upheld' and called for an end to delays in implementing the ruling.
