Question

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, following the publication on 19 March of the report by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender, whether the House of Lords Administration, in collecting personal data for employment purposes, will ensure that (1) any question about sex should by default concern biological sex, and (2) the form of such questions should be “what is your sex” and the options for response are “male” or “female”.

The House of Lords Administration collects personal data from all employees which is recorded on the HR system and provided to HMRC. Employees must provide the sex recorded on their birth certificate or Gender Recognition Certificate (female or male).

The House of Lords Administration is not within the scope of the independent review commissioned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). However, the absence of a single source of authoritative guidance on data collection on sex and gender and the need for attention to maintain impartiality on issues including gender noted in the review are as relevant to the Administration as they are to public bodies within the report’s scope.

The way in which data about sex and gender is collected by the House of Lords Administration is subject to periodic review. Work is currently underway to consider how we approach these issues in survey and data collection undertaken by the Administration, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology review will be a helpful contribution.