A UK-wide investigation has found that hundreds of taxpayer-funded public bodies in England and Wales have not fully implemented a Supreme Court ruling clarifying that “woman” in equality law refers to biological sex.
The ruling, issued last year, stated that sex under the Equality Act is based on biology rather than self-identification or possession of a gender recognition certificate. Despite this, close to 400 public bodies are reportedly still operating policies that do not reflect the decision.
According to the Daily Mail‘s findings, affected institutions include National Health Service (NHS) trusts, police forces, local authorities, and central government departments. Some policies are said to still allow male-born individuals who identify as transgender to access female-only facilities, including changing rooms and toilets.
The issue appears particularly widespread within the 190 NHS trusts with inpatient facilities in England, where 97% are reported to maintain policies that allow access to women’s spaces based on self-identified gender. Examples cited include guidance from Stockport NHS Foundation Trust and Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, both of which say individuals should be accommodated according to their “choice” or “adopted identity,” though both organisations say their policies are under review.
More than half of local councils and over 20 police forces have also not fully updated their procedures in line with the ruling. One police force, Gwent Police, stated that its policy remains unchanged and that facilities are used “in accordance with their lived gender.”
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