Oral Answers to Questions

Mary Glindon Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Stephen Timms]

We are going to work with the ombudsman to make sure that this never happens again. A detailed report will be published, and we are committed to making sure that in future, sufficient notice is given of any state pension changes. We are also going to develop a communications strategy using the most up-to-date methods for the state pension. For example, the “check your state pension” service gives a forecast including telling people when they can take their state pension.

[Mary Glindon (Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend) (Lab)]

5. When she expects the Equality and Human Rights Commission to publish its revised code of practice for services, public functions and associations.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Anneliese Dodds)]

This Government are steadfast in their commitment to protecting single-sex spaces and committed to ensuring that services feel confident in providing them, with better guidance. The EHRC will publish the revised code once it has finalised the draft and it has been approved by Ministers. That follows the EHRC’s consultation, which has now closed.

[Mary Glindon]

The Government have recognised that there was confusion or a lack of awareness about the same-sex exceptions in the Equality Act 2010 and how to apply them practice, so does the Minister agree that the updated EHRC statutory code is needed as soon as possible to make it explicitly clear that the Act provides for single-sex services for biological women?

[Anneliese Dodds]

It is vital that service providers have clear guidance about the Equality Act. The EHRC has already published non-statutory guidance on the legislation for separate and single-sex service providers, and the new Government have also acted to underline that single-sex refuges, for example, are fully legally compliant, as I emphasised when I visited such a refuge in September.