Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the (a) Shipova case as decided in the European Court of Justice and (b) Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers on gender recognition in Northern Ireland.

The UK Government is firmly committed to upholding the legal protections established by the Equality Act 2010, including those which protect people against unfair treatment based on the characteristics of sex and gender reassignment.

We have always been clear that the For Women Scotland Supreme Court ruling brought clarity to the definition of ‘sex’ for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.

Equal opportunities and anti-discrimination laws remain devolved matters in Northern Ireland, and the extent of the Equality Act 2010 as set out in law remains unchanged. The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has a clear statutory duty, under the Northern Ireland Act 1998, to offer guidance on the meaning and interpretation of equality law within Northern Ireland, including any implications arising from the Court of Justice of the European Union ruling in the Shipova case.