Welsh Government Stands Firm on Gender-neutral Facilities

The Welsh Government has confirmed it has no plans to remove gender-neutral spaces, such as toilets in schools, following a recent Supreme Court ruling that defined a woman by biological sex under equalities law. 🏛️

The announcement came during a Senedd question session on May 13, where Counsel General Julie James firmly rejected Conservative MS Tom Giffard’s suggestion that gender-neutral facilities should be removed.

When pressed about providing funding and guidance to remove gender-neutral spaces in schools, Ms James responded with a simple “no.”

“The Supreme Court judgment very clearly sets out, Tom, as you well know, that trans people are also protected under the Equality Act. All they’re doing is pointing out that, for the purposes of single-sex spaces, the biological sex matters. But the removal of gender-neutral spaces is not specified, and we will not be looking at it,” she stated.

The Counsel General further added: “I am not going to indulge in the kind of culture war that you clearly want me to. Providing single-sex spaces will be necessary, I’m sure, under the new interpretation of the Equality Act. That does not require the removal of gender-neutral spaces in any way.”

Mr Giffard had referenced guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, noting that “schools in England and Wales must provide separate single-sex toilets for boys and girls over the age of eight, and it is also compulsory for them to provide single-sex changing facilities for boys and girls over the age of 11.”

First Minister Eluned Morgan has acknowledged that the Supreme Court ruling will have “significant implications for public services,” while more than 1,000 people participated in a protest in Cardiff following the decision.

The Supreme Court ruling came at the end of a long-running legal battle with potential major implications for how sex-based rights apply across Scotland, England and Wales. 🧩