The code is also said to acknowledge that a transgender person could be barred from single-sex spaces even when their biological sex matches. Single-sex spaces ‘legitimate’The EHRC document also describes the provision of single-sex spaces for “ensuring the safety of women or the privacy and dignity of women and/or men” as a “legitimate aim”. Following ministerial approval, the revised code must be laid before Parliament for 40 days before it can be brought into force. Charlotte Nichols, Labour MP for Warrington North, said that when she was younger and had a pixie haircut she would frequently be mis-gendered and called “Sir”. Another Labour MP and ally of Ms Phillipson’s, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that if the minister “needs to take her time, then she needs to take her time”.

Source: The Times November 20, 2025 13:20 UTC