Closed petition Reform the Gender Recognition Act.

Petition progress

View all updates for this petition, with the most recent first.

• 21 February 2022

  Parliament debated this petition

  

  • Read the transcript of the debate
  • Read the research used for the debate
• 25 January 2022

  Parliament will debate this petition on 21 February 2022

  You’ll be able to watch online on the UK Parliament YouTube channel.

• 6 January 2022

  Related activity

  Report on Reform of the Gender Recognition Act published by MPs

  The Women and Equalities Committee has published a report looking at Reform of the Gender Recognition Act, and related areas.

  Read the Committee's report: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmwomeq/977/report.html

  Among the recommendations made in its report the Committee has said that the Government should:

  • Remove the requirement of a 'gender dysphoria' diagnosis from the process of obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate, thus de-medicalising transition.
  • Remove the requirement for trans people to have lived in their acquired gender for two years, as well as the need for spousal consent.
  • Clarify what the barriers are preventing non-binary people from gaining legal recognition
  • Urgently publish new guidance, incorporating worked examples and case studies, which would clarify where single-sex and separate-sex exceptions can be applied to the 2010 Equality Act.
  • Develop a specific healthcare strategy for transgender and non-binary people, including training for GPs around treating trans and non-binary patients and improved access to support services.

  Read more about the report, including a comment from Caroline Nokes MP, Chair of the Committee: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/328/women-and-equalities-committee/news/160020/gender-recognition-process-urgently-in-need-of-reform-say-mps/

  What happens next?

  The Government now must respond to the Committee's report, which was published on 21 December 2021, within two months. The Committee will publish the Government’s response here: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/328/women-and-equalities-committee/publications/

  What is the Women and Equalities Committee?

  The Women and Equalities Committee is a cross-party group of MPs appointed by the House of Commons to examine the work of the Government Equalities Office (GEO). It holds Government to account on equality law and policy, including the Equality Act 2010 and cross Government activity on equalities. It also scrutinises the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

  Find out more on their website: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/328/women-and-equalities-committee/

  You can get updates on their work by following the Committee on Twitter:
  https://twitter.com/Commonswomequ

  This is a ‘select committee’. Find out how Select Committees work:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c

  Get involved in the work of the UK Parliament

  You can sign up to the Your UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference: https://learning.parliament.uk/en/your-uk-parliament-newsletter-sign-up-form/

• 24 January 2021

  Petition closed

• 7 October 2020

  Government responded to this petition

  We want transgender people to be free to live and prosper in modern Britain. The Government looked carefully at the issues raised and believe that this legislation strikes the right balance.

  Read the response in full

  We want transgender people to be free to live and to prosper in modern Britain. We have looked carefully at the issues raised in the consultation, including potential changes to the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

  It is the Government’s view that the balance struck in this legislation is correct, in that there are proper checks and balances in the system and also support for people who want to change their legal sex.

  We will make the gender recognition certificate process kinder and more straightforward. We will streamline the administrative process and cut bureaucracy by enabling applications via gov.uk and we will also reduce the fee from £140 to a nominal amount.

  We know from our research that improving healthcare support is a priority for transgender people. That’s why we’re opening at least three new gender clinics this year, which should see waiting lists cut by around 1,600 patients by 2022, and why the GEO is providing funding for the Dr Michael Brady, the UK’s National LGBT Health Advisor, and working with him and the NHS to improve transgender people’s experience.

  It is also important that we protect single-sex spaces in line with the Equality Act. The law is clear that service providers are able to restrict access to single sex spaces on the basis of biological sex.

  Together this upholds the rights of transgender people and women, ensures that our system is kinder and more straightforward, and addresses the concerns of transgender people.

  Government's Equalities Office

• 1 October 2020

  Related activity

  Update on petition debate

  The Petitions Committee considered this petition at its first meeting after it reached 100,000 signatures and have agreed it will be scheduled for debate.

  Due to the backlog of petitions awaiting debate and the closure of Westminster Hall until 5 October, it is not yet possible to confirm a date for this debate. As soon as a date for this debate has been confirmed, you’ll get another update.

  In the meantime you can follow the Committee on Twitter for updates on work on this issue and others: https://www.twitter.com/hocpetitions

  What is the Petitions Committee?

  The Petitions Committee is a cross-party group of MPs that considers e-petitions submitted on Parliament’s petitions website and public (paper) petitions presented to the House of Commons. It is independent of the Government.

  You can find more information about the Committee on the website:
  https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/

  This is a ‘select committee’. Find out how Select Committees work:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c

• 25 September 2020

  Related activity

  MPs debate the Government's response to its consultation on the Gender Recognition Act

  On Thursday 24 September, MPs debated the Government's response to the recent consultation on the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) 2004.

  The debate was prompted by an Urgent Question from Crispin Blunt MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Global LGBT+ Rights, to Equalities Minister Liz Truss MP.

  Read the Government's response to the GRA consultation: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-responds-to-gender-recognition-act-consultation.
  Watch the debate: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/f63a02f0-0018-4a77-b8d4-037dc41e3558?in=10:38:15
  Read the transcript: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2020-09-24/debates/9A57DC36-172D-40CF-98D6-502F1B9A78F0/GenderRecognitionActConsultation

  Background
  Find out more about the APPG on Global LGBT+ Rights: https://www.appglgbt.org/
  Find out more about Urgent Questions: https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/business/urgent-questions/

• 22 September 2020

  This petition will be considered for debate in Parliament

  This petition got more than 100,000 signatures meaning the Petitions Committee will consider it for debate in Parliament.

• 20 September 2020

  Government will respond to this petition

  This petition got more than 10,000 signatures meaning that government will respond to it.

• 24 July 2020

  Petition published

  This petition can now be signed.

  If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

  If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

  This petition will stay open until 24 January 2021.