EHRC announces regulatory action in respect of policies which allow access to single sex spaces and services based on gender self identification

On 27 August 2025, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (“EHRC”) announced that it has completed its review of evidence obtained from the Government’s 2024 call for input on organisations’ approaches to single sex spaces and services, and that it will be taking regulatory action where organisations’ policies on this issue misrepresent equality law.

Specifically, action will be taken where policies “wrongly suggest people have a legal right to access single sex spaces and services according to their self-identified gender”.

The EHRC is now in the process of writing to 19 organisations, to ask them to withdraw and review their policies in respect of the above and confirm the timeframe within which this will be done. Compliance will be monitored, and further regulatory action taken, as needed.

Separately from the above, the EHRC’s own guidance on single sex spaces and services, and statutory Services Code of Practice, is still in the process of being updated in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16 (which found that “sex” for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 (“EqA”) should be interpreted as meaning biological sex at birth). The updated guidance is awaited with interest.

The Government’s 2024 call for input on organisations’ policies re: single sex spaces and services

Last year, the EHRC wrote to the Government, expressing concern that many public bodies were not correctly applying the single sex provisions in the EqA.

In response, in May 2024, the Government launched a “call for input” which sought examples of policies, relating to single sex spaces and services, that “wrongly suggest people have a legal right to access single sex spaces and services according to their self-identified gender”.

The findings of the call for input were shared with the EHRC, with a request that it review them.

The EHRC’s review of the evidence

As part of its review, the EHRC assessed around 404 examples of policies relating to single sex spaces and services.

Of these, approximately 42 (10%) had “misinterpreted” the single-sex provisions of the EqA. This was in a number of nuanced ways, “including not acknowledging that the [EqA] allows providers to exclude those with the “gender reassignment” protected characteristic where justified, or, acknowledging but misinterpreting these exceptions”. The organisations to which this applied included those spanning the education, health, policing and public sectors.

The EHRC has said that this review exercise will enable it to form a better judgment of the overall compliance picture and inform its Services Code of Practice and broader regulatory activity.

Subsequent regulatory action

Following its review, the EHRC is now writing to 19 organisations (whose policies still remain incorrect as of last month), to ask them to review policies that “contain language wrongly suggesting there is an automatic legal right to access single-sex spaces based on self-identification”. It commented that “organisations need to ensure that their policies accurately reflect the law as it stands”. This is presumably an oblique reference to the recent For Women Scotland judgment (see below).

The organisations in question are being asked to provide assurances that the policies will be withdrawn and give details of their proposed timetable for revising them. This is the first stage in the enforcement process the EHRC can take, to compel organisations to comply with the law. Those organisations that do not comply, are likely to face further action.

Going forward the EHRC will monitor compliance and consider further regulatory action, as necessary.

The EHRC has stated that, as the national regulator for equality and human rights in Great Britain, it has a statutory duty to promote compliance with equality law. It also stated that it “[remains] committed to supporting both women’s rights and trans people’s rights within the existing legal framework”.

Ongoing review of EHRC guidance on single sex spaces and services following For Women Scotland

On 16 April 2025, the Supreme Court handed down its landmark judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16; finding that, for the purposes of the EqA, the words “man”, “woman” and “sex” mean biological man, biological woman and biological sex (i.e. at birth), and that if somebody identifies as transgender they do not change sex for the purposes of the EqA (even if they have a Gender Recognition Certificate).

On 25 April 2025, the EHRC published an interim update on the practical implications of the Supreme Court’s judgment for single sex spaces and services, which was later amended.

In tandem with the above, the EHRC announced that it would be reviewing and updating its own guidance on single sex spaces and services, and its Services Code of Practice in light of the For Women Scotland judgment.

A consultation was carried out in May and June 2025, and the updated guidance is expected to be finalised imminently.

A link to the EHRC’s announcement regarding regulatory action can be found here, and a link to the EHRC’s interim update on For Women Scotland can be found here.

If you would like to learn more about the background of the For Women Scotland case, you can find out more here. Get in touch with Paul Jennings if you would like to discuss anything above further.

The material in this article is provided for guidance and general information only and is not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice upon which you should rely. In particular, the information should not be used as a substitute for a full and proper consultation with a suitably qualified professional. Please do contact the Bates Wells team if you require further information.