Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of taking steps to require higher education providers to record student data by biological sex.

The department has not made any independent assessment of requiring higher education (HE) providers to record student data by biological sex.

As the Designated Data Body that collects and publishes statistics about HE providers, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) specifies the information that is required from students.

HESA have consulted on how personal characteristics should be collected in future. This consultation was conducted in partnership with the UK governments, Office for Students and other UK funding bodies. This consultation considered the merits of different approaches to the recording of student sex.

Following the consultation, it was determined that the sex stated on one of the individual’s legal documents such as birth certificate, Gender Recognition Certificate, or passport ought to be recorded. If there is any conflict, the newest document should be referenced.

Details of HESA’s consultation are published here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/innovation/records/reviews/consultation-outcomes-personal-characteristics-equality-data.Details of the information required from HE providers in 2022/23 are published here: https://codingmanual.hesa.ac.uk/22056/Student/field/SEXID.