Sport: Supreme Court Ruling on Sex and Gender

Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe Excerpts

Wednesday 7th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The noble Baroness is right that the controversy or difficulty comes through the methods that are used to determine sex or conditions for entry within those sports. I still think it is not the role of government or within the power of government to tell international sporting bodies what conditions and rules they should have in place for participation in those sports.

[Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Lab)]

My Lords, given that a lawful and meaningful consultation requires consultees to be afforded adequate time to respond, can my noble friend the Minister confirm how long the Government will consider adequate for the EHRC’s consultation, in the context of a highly complex area of law that has attracted a wide range of interpretations?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

It is clear that this is both a difficult and sensitive area, not least because this is my third or fourth appearance at the Dispatch Box on it since the ruling. My noble friend refers particularly to the development of the code of practice by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which will be a very important way of ensuring that providers of services—less so, I have to say, for sports governing bodies—have more clarity about the application of the Supreme Court ruling. It is clearly important that there is sufficient time for people both to consider the implications of that and to make representations. I hope and believe that it is the intention of the Equality and Human Rights Commission that people have the chance to make those representations over a suitable period of time.