Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether (1) the Department of Health and Social Care, (2) its agencies, and (3) NHS England, hold information about individual GPs who are prescribing hormone treatments and other drugs, such as spiralactone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, to transgender individuals who are (a) older than 18 years old, and (b) younger than 18 years old.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold this information. NHS England does hold this information on an exceptional basis when concerns are made about the prescribing practices of individual general practices, including when the concerns have been made as part of a professional standards investigation.

For patients who are under 18 years old, the NHS stopped the routine prescription of puberty blocker treatments to under 18s in March 2024, following the findings of the Cass Review into gender services. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues were subsequently restricted as part of an emergency banning order which took effect June 2024.

In August 2024, NHS England wrote to all general practitioners (GPs) in England responsible for prescribing GnRH analogues, to clarify application of this new legislation in clinical practice-based scenarios. In December 2024, the Department announced that the order banning the use of puberty blockers for individuals younger than 18 years old would be made indefinite. A further update to NHS England’s guidance was provided to GPs that same month.

In May 2025, NHS England issued guidance that advised GPs not to support unregulated providers in prescribing hormone treatments for gender incongruence to children and young people under 18 years old.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance has been issued to GPs by (1) the Department of Health and Social Care, (2) its agencies, and (3) NHS England, about the practice of prescribing hormone treatments and other drugs, such as spiralactone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, to transgender individuals who are (a) older than 18 years old, and (b) younger than 18 years old.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In 2018 NHS England issued guidance to general practitioners (GPs) about the role of primary care in responding to requests for a shared care approach to prescribing hormone treatments to adult patients when the request is from an online private provider.

For patients who are under 18 years old, the NHS stopped the routine prescription of puberty blocker treatments in March 2024, following the findings of the Cass Review into gender services. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues were subsequently restricted as part of an emergency banning order which took effect June 2024.

In August 2024, NHS England wrote to all GPs in England responsible for prescribing GnRH analogues, to clarify application of this new legislation in clinical practice-based scenarios. In December 2024, the Department announced that the order banning the use of puberty blockers for individuals younger than 18 years old would be made indefinite. A further update to NHS England’s guidance was provided to GPs that same month.

In May 2025, NHS England issued guidance that advised GPs not to support unregulated providers in prescribing hormone treatments for gender incongruence to children and young people under 18 years old.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the policy of the Government Property Agency on gender neutral toilets in government buildings outside of England where the statutory guidance Toilet Accommodation: Approved Document T, updated on 1 October 2024, does not apply.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government Property Agency (GPA) follows the building regulations and relevant legislation of the devolved nations it is operating in.

The GPA has adopted the principles laid out in Toilet Accommodation: Approved Document T into its Workplace Design guidance.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, whether the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will require driving licences to list only an individual's biological sex.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Driving licences do not currently specify the sex or gender of the licence holder and there are no plans to change this.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, whether the Passport Office will require passports to list only an individual's biological sex.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer I provided to PQ UIN 41234 on 31 March.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance (1) departments; and (2) the Equality and Human Rights Commission; have issued to (a) public sector, organisations and (b) private-sector, organisations running internships schemes which are not open to certain groups based on their protected characteristics.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Equality Act 2010 (the Act) prevents employers from treating people more favourably because of a particular protected characteristic. The positive action provisions in the Act along with certain disability provisions allow some limited exceptions to this general principle of discrimination law, and employers need to understand how these exceptions work in order to use them effectively and avoid straying into unlawful positive discrimination.

In April 2023, the previous government published guidance to help employers understand the difference between positive action and positive discrimination. The guidance is available on gov.uk at www.gov.uk/government/publications/positive-action-in-the-workplace-guidance-for-employers.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to paragraphs 54 and 55 of the EU–UK Security and Defence Partnership, published on 19 May, and the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, what assessment they have made of whether the UK definition of a woman aligns with that of the European Commission and its agencies.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Supreme Court decision concerned the definition of a woman in the context of the UK Equality Act 2010.

In line with the UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, the UK aims to ensure that the needs of women, girls, and marginalised people, including those who are LGBT+, are properly considered in conflict response. The EU-UK Security and Defence Partnership provides a framework for dialogue and cooperation with the EU, including on this issue.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what communications (1) the Department for Health and Social Care, and (2) NHS England, have had with the Professional Records Standards Body about the definitions of (1) gender identity, and (2) gender.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department and NHS England have had no communications with the Professional Records Standards Body about the definition of gender identity and gender.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they consider self-identification of an individual as (1) greygender, (2) maverique, (3) two-spirit, (4) demiboy, (5) demigirl, (6) neutrois, (7) aporagender, (8) polygender, (9) intergender, (10) trigender, (11) omnigender, (12) multigender, (13) pangender, (14) bigender, (15) agender, (16) androgyne, (17) demigender, (18) genderfluid, (19) genderqueer, (20) genderflux, or (21) non-binary, to be a protected characteristic; and whether it is considered to be a protected characteristic by the Office for Equality and Opportunity.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Equality Act 2010 provides protection against discrimination and harassment and related harassment due to any of the nine protected characteristics covered by the Act. It protects people from discrimination, in the workplace, when accessing services and in wider society.

The nine protected characteristics in the Act are:

• age;
• disability;
• gender reassignment;
• marriage and civil partnership;
• pregnancy and maternity;
• race;
• religion or belief;
• sex;
• sexual orientation.

The Government has no current plans to add to the list of protected characteristics.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 8 August (HL9893), whether the definition of a woman in the next UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security will be updated to reflect the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

The UK's Women Peace and Security (WPS) National Action Plan (NAP) refines our approach to WPS, responding to the changing nature of conflict and provides the strategic direction for the UK's global diplomatic, development and defence efforts. The Supreme Court decision concerned the definition of a woman in the context of the UK Equality Act 2010.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention on 21 January (HC23523), how many Home Office staff are employed to discharge the obligations under the Equality Act 2010, and what are the job titles of those staff.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

We refer Baronness Jenkin to the Written Answer provided on 19 February, PQ 30618.

This response clarified the number of FTE roles in the HR function within the central Equality, Diversity and Wellbeing Team which are specifically focused on discharging statutory duties under the Equality Act 2010. As stated in the Written Answer on 21 January 2025 to question 23523, roles may exist outside of the HR function which have some responsibilities relating to statutory obligations under the Equality Act 2010.

Due to the broad nature of responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 and number of roles and functions in the Home Office, it is not possible to provide a specific number and related job titles which could be relevant in relation to the question asked. Additionally, some parts of the Equality Act 2010 could be relevant and/or apply to all roles in the Home Office such as the general public sector equality duties listed under Section 149 of the act.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 8 August (HL9893), what is the definition of a woman used by the European Commission and its institutions for the purposes of joint UK–EU programmes, and whether that definition includes the definition adopted by the European Institute for Gender Equality.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

This is a matter for the European Commission.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to page 79 of the Chronic Risks Analysis, published by the Cabinet Office on 8 July, why the information about the Equality Act 2010 references gender rather than sex.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Chronic Risk Analysis (CRA) is a collaboration between Cabinet Office and the Government Office for Science.

The text in the report sets out some of the protected characteristics covered by the Equalities Act and notes the potential impact on these through bias and discrimination. The drafting could be improved by explicitly listing all 9 characteristics. This will be amended in any future publications of the analysis.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government why the Pension Protection Fund's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy 2025–28, published on 12 June, uses the term "gender" rather than "sex", and what plans they have to revise the strategy in the light of the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Pension Protection Fund has chosen in its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy to further its core belief of supporting everyone, beyond the protected characteristics as defined by law. The Supreme Court decision has prompted a consultation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission on its Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations. Once statutory guidance has been published, we will work with our key stakeholders to inform our ongoing approach.