The UK Supreme Court ruled unanimously in April 2023 that 'sex' in the Equality Act refers to biological sex, not self-identification or a gender recognition certificate, meaning service providers are legally required to enforce single-sex spaces based on biology. A Daily Mail audit found that hundreds of public bodies are defying this ruling on its first anniversary. Nearly 400 public bodies have outdated policies allowing trans-identifying biological males to use women-only spaces such as changing rooms and toilets, with 97% of 190 NHS trusts in England with inpatient facilities among them.
More than half of England's 317 town halls are failing to comply, and more than 20 of 43 police forces in England and Wales said they were yet to update their policies, allowing transgender staff and detainees to use whichever facilities they like. The Gwent police force in Wales admitted flouting the law, saying their policy remains the same and staff and officers use facilities according to their gender identity. Ministers have been sitting on guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission on how to enforce the ruling since September, and many of the audited organizations claimed they were effectively in limbo due to this delay.
Critics said the findings were inexcusable and showed a complete disregard for the law which has inflicted untold harm to women and girls. The exact number of public bodies that have updated their policies to comply with the ruling remains unknown, and it is unclear what specific actions, if any, the government plans to take to enforce compliance or when the Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance will be released and implemented, leaving the impact on women and girls in terms of safety and access to single-sex spaces uncertain.