Oral Answers to Questions

Josh Newbury Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

The hon. Lady raises a fair point and a fair challenge. No one should pay more for essential products, including health or hygiene-related products. I will pick up the issue with colleagues across Government, and I will come back to her with a full response.

[Josh Newbury (Cannock Chase) (Lab)]

3. What assessment she has made of the impact on trans people of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s updated services code of practice.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)]

The code is explicit that trans people must remain protected under the Equality Act 2010, must have access to vital services and must not be subject to discrimination. This Government will always treat everyone with dignity and respect. As an independent regulator, it will be for the EHRC to monitor and review the impact of its guidance.

[Josh Newbury]

In the three months since the revised code of practice came into force, trans people have reported being forced out of all single-sex spaces, such as toilets for either gender, and they feel that the clock has been turned back to a time when their very existence was policed. That is clearly incompatible with their ongoing protections under the Equality Act, and I hope that it is not in the spirt of what the EHRC hopes to achieve. Will the Minister keep listening to the real-world experiences of trans people and, if necessary, tell the EHRC to look again at the code?

[Simon Lightwood]

The EHRC will keep the impact of its guidance under review. The code is clear that trans people should not be left without facilities to use. Where single-sex services are provided, service providers should consider alternative options, such as gender-neutral or individual self-contained facilities, to ensure that trans people are included. We expect service providers to take proportionate approaches that protect safety and privacy for everyone.

--- Later in debate ---

[Bridget Phillipson]

It is important that we take action on the disadvantage that holds people back by virtue of family background and income. We intend to enact the socioeconomic duty, which will ensure that all public authorities take seriously their responsibility in how they design and deliver public services. I am grateful for the shadow Minister’s interest in this area and look forward to working with her to ensure that we finally take class seriously as a country.

[Josh Newbury (Cannock Chase) (Lab)]

T3. There is a clear distinction between discussion and disagreement, and harmful conversion practices. The Government’s draft Bill is clear in using the existing definition of abusive conduct in criminal law. Does the Minister agree with me that the protections in the Bill are urgently needed, and that before the end of this Session we should pass the comprehensive, trans-inclusive conversion practices ban that our manifesto called for?

[Bridget Phillipson]

Abusive conversion practices have no place in our country, and no one should face abuse because of who they are or who they love. We have brought forward a draft Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny because we want to get it right. I look forward to the Joint Committee’s recommendations and to working across the House to finally deliver that long-overdue ban.