Liz Truss said the government “has no interest” in banning transgender people from using spaces that align with their gender identity.
In a letter sent to Baroness Kishwer Falkner, head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the Minister for Women and Equalities stated that the government would not accept guidance that changed allowing trans people to use the single-sex spaces that they feel most comfortable in.
In the letter, which was sent on 18 February and shared exclusively by the i, Truss said: “The Equality Act makes it clear that providers have the right to restrict use of spaces on the basis of sex as currently takes place. “The Government has no interest in changing the current situation where transgender people are able to use facilities of their chosen gender. “I very much support your attempts to correct the record and know that you will be seeking to engage and reassure LGBT groups on these issues privately too.” The Foreign Secretary claimed that her government and the equality body in question are “fully committed to ensuring that all people, including transgender people, are free to live and prosper in modern Britain.” The EHRC is currently creating guidance on single-sex spaces, prompting the letter from Truss.
In recent months, the human rights watchdog has been facing increasing scrutiny for what Stonewall has called an “anti-trans stance”.