Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the policy of the Government Property Agency on gender neutral toilets in government buildings outside of England where the statutory guidance Toilet Accommodation: Approved Document T, updated on 1 October 2024, does not apply.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government Property Agency (GPA) follows the building regulations and relevant legislation of the devolved nations it is operating in.
The GPA has adopted the principles laid out in Toilet Accommodation: Approved Document T into its Workplace Design guidance.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, and the statutory guidance Toilet Accommodation: Approved Document T, updated on 1 October 2024, what is the policy of (1) the Government Property Agency, and (2) the Cabinet Office, in relation to (a) the removal of legacy gender-neutral toilets on the government estates, and (b) the provision of self-contained universal toilets in addition to single-sex toilets.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Neither the Cabinet Office nor the Government Property Agency (GPA) have a specific policy in relation to (a) the removal of legacy gender-neutral toilets on the government estates, or (b) the provision of self-contained universal toilets in addition to single-sex toilets.
The GPA does have a guidance document that is used in new build or refurbishment projects across the part of the GPA estate where it is accountable for WC provision. This guidance follows the current requirements of the statutory guidance Toilet Accommodation: Approved Document T.
The Government is considering the implications of the Court’s judgment, including what this means for Government buildings.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office) on 7 April (HC43082), whether they have changed the policy that Equality, Diversity and Inclusion guidance for the Civil Service should be publicly published.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The controls outlined in the Civil Service Equality Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Guidance, which was published on 14 May 2024, remain in place.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 16 September (HL694), which arm's-length bodies pay for an affiliation to Stonewall using public money.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
Information on how issued funding is spent by arms length bodies, including payments to third party organisations, is not gathered centrally.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office on 30 July (HC936), whether they now intend to publish the data gathered from the Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Review.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
We are currently considering the Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Review commissioned by the previous Government.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister, or the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, undertook an equality impact assessment, and considered the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010, when deciding to remove the portrait of the first female Prime Minister from the Downing Street study.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The portrait continues to hang in 10 Downing Street.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the then Minister without Portfolio in the Cabinet Office on 14 May (HCWS464), whether they will place in the Library of the House a list of every diversity network recognised (1) across government, and (2) within individual departments, broken down by department.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There are no current plans to place a list of every diversity network recognised (1) across government, and (2) within individual departments, broken down by department in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the motion proposed at the PCS Union’s annual conference 2023 requesting the establishment of a staff support network for Bondage, Domination, Sadism, and Masochism; and what representations, if any, they have received from PCS Union in this regard.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The PCS union has not made any representations to the Cabinet Office with regard to this matter and therefore we have not made any assessment of the motion.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their policy on civil servants wearing fetish clothing in the workplace.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Within the Civil Service, workplace dress code is delegated to individual departments to decide as part of their terms and conditions of service.
Civil Servants are required to dress appropriately for work and this would not include fetish clothing.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord True on 23 May 2022 (HL67), on what date the Office of Parliamentary Counsel completed updating its drafting guidance on the use of gendered language, and whether they will place a copy in the Library of the House.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel’s guidance on legislative drafting, which includes the use of sex-specific references in legislation, was deposited in the Library on Wednesday 27 March and is available on GOV.UK.