Equality and Human Rights Commission: Code of Practice

Debate between Baroness Smith of Malvern and Lord Paddick

Monday 19th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I have been pretty clear every time that I have answered. People might not like the answer. But ensuring that what is laid before Parliament is legally defensible will enable those who need the protection of this code and of the Equality Act to receive it without us being bogged down in lengthy legal proceedings. I think that is a sensible thing for any Government to be spending a bit of time on getting right.

[Lord Paddick (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I declare an interest. I am paid to advise the Metropolitan Police on culture and leadership. I joined the Metropolitan Police as a constable 50 years ago in 1976—I tell people I joined when I was seven. One of the things that undermine public confidence in laws and those who enforce them is when rules and regulations, however legally sound and well intentioned, are not enforceable in practice. How sure are the Government that the EHRC Code of Practice is actually workable?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

Workability is one important criterion; so is a certainty that the code fulfils the legal requirements and the clarity that has now been brought into the law by the For Women Scotland judgment. But the noble Lord is right that what can be very clear in law may be more complex in terms of its application in every single circumstance. It is important that that is clear through the process of the code.

“For Women Scotland” Supreme Court Ruling

Debate between Baroness Smith of Malvern and Lord Paddick

Thursday 24th April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The integrity and fairness of sport are obviously crucial. The Equality Act actually always allowed sporting bodies, for example, to exclude trans people from gender-affected sporting competitions if necessary to secure fair competition or for the safety of their competitors. I am sure that sporting bodies will now look carefully at this ruling as they consider how to maintain that integrity and fairness.

[Lord Paddick (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, a Government Minister said this week that everyone should use toilets according to their sex recorded at birth. I think the Minister has said similar things this morning, in terms of single-sex spaces and biological sex. With trans men, some of whom look more of a man than I do, being told to use women’s facilities, how does this make women safer or less fearful, when a predatory male could simply claim to be a trans man?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

It was the Supreme Court that was clear that single-sex spaces, including toilets, should be offered on the basis of biological sex, and Ministers were reflecting that ruling. This is a difficult issue, and I am sure that it will be considered by the EHRC during the production of its code of practice. Increasingly, in very many public places we see unisex toilets, which are available to everybody.