Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for the review of NHS England guidance entitled Delivering same-sex accommodation; and what role he will play in the process.

The National Health Service is currently reviewing its ‘Delivering same-sex accommodation’ guidance and will ensure revised guidance reflects the Supreme Court ruling and is aligned with the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) statutory guidance when this becomes available.

The EHRC is working at pace to develop a new statutory Code of Practice in light of the judgment. This will cover in detail the approach employers should take in relation to single-sex spaces to align with their legal obligations. All service providers, including the NHS, must comply with this Code of Practice.

The EHRC recently closed their consultation for the new Statutory Code of Practice and are now processing the responses.

In the meantime, I continue to expect NHS employers to act in line with their legal obligations, including applying the Equality Act 2010 in line with the Supreme Court’s judgment.