Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to (a) ensure that support services for transgender people are made more accessible and localised and (b) enhance existing transgender support services.

The Government is dedicated to improving the lives of transgender people and ensuring that barriers to their success are removed from society.

This is reflected in the Government response to the Women and Equality Select Committee inquiry into transgender equality, where we set out a range of initiatives to improve the lives of transgender people. This includes improving the way people are supported by gender identity services through new training of NHS staff. The Government response can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transgender-equality-report-government-response.

This is not the only work we have delivered. In November 2015, the Government issued ‘Providing services for transgender customers: a guide’, which set out advice for all service providers to ensure that transgender people are welcomed, included and valued as customers, clients, users or members, and that they are treated fairly and appropriately. This can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providing-services-for-transgender-customers-a-guide.

Alongside those initiatives, the Government will continue to push forward action to tackle transgender inequality and improve services for transgender people.