Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to page 27 of the policy paper Protecting What Matters, published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 9 March, for what reason the paper refers to "genders" rather than sex, given the Supreme Court judgement in the For Women Scotland case.

The UK Government is firmly committed to upholding the legal protections established by the Equality Act 2010, including those which protect people against unlawful discrimination and harassment 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.

Protecting What Matters makes clear that the UK is a diverse, pluralistic, and equal society. Its reference to “people of all races, religions, sexualities, and genders” refers to the fact that UK society respects and values people of all backgrounds.