Equality Act 2010: Code of Practice

Viscount Hailsham Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I hear what the noble Lord says. What we do have is a decision of the Supreme Court and a decision of the independent Equality and Human Rights Commission about how that guidance should be complied with. I do not understand the fixation on toilets either. The point was raised about safety; we were talking about women’s refuges and the need for single-sex spaces. But when I am in Spain, no woman or man worries about where they go to the toilet—we use the same one on a regular basis.

[Viscount Hailsham (Con)]

My Lords, although I very much welcome the decision of the Supreme Court, there may be room for statutory exemption in respect of persons who have fully transitioned—that is to say, certificated and having gone through the gender-affirming surgery. There is a case for saying that they should be entitled to assert their acquired gender. I will cite just one case. I have a friend, a biological male, who was married as such and had children as such, and who has transitioned, is fully certificated and has gone through affirmative surgery. It is not reasonable to say that a person in that situation, albeit a biological male, should, if circumstances arise—in this case they would not—go to a male prison. That would be nonsense.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I hear what the noble Viscount says. The Supreme Court judgment is clear about biological sex; we have to and we will ensure compliance. The independent Equality and Human Rights Commission has come up with guidance. That guidance has gone through a lot of process and consultation, and people have been listened to in respect of that. But we have to work our way through in a proportionate way. As I say, trans people are not just trans women but also trans men, and how we accommodate all these things is really important. We must respect their rights under the Equality Act but we must also fully comply with the Supreme Court judgment.