GUIDANCE on use of toilets and changing rooms as single-sex spaces comes into force today, almost a year-and-a-half after the landmark Supreme Court ruling on biological sex.
Described as giving “up-to-date examples of how the Equality Act applies to everyday situations”, it will be something that can be relied on in court if there are legal challenges – which Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson has previously suggested is expected “because this is a very contested space”.
While the UK's equalities regulator has stressed that its updated code of practice does not make new law or create new legal obligations, it provides services such as cafes and leisure centres with legally accurate, impartial and up-to-date guidance on existing law.
The April 2025 Supreme Court ruling was hailed by campaigners as a victory confirming “women are women and men are men” – although it has been described trans people, activists, doctors and trans allies as “incredibly worrying for the trans community”.
The Scottish Greens have condemned the guidance, which comes as hostility towards trans people continues to rise. Figures from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service show there were 104 hate crime charges where transgender identity was an aggravator in 2025–26 — a 21% increase on the previous year and the highest total since records began in 2010.
In the face of previous criticism from anti-trans campaigners for the delay in publishing the code, the Government had repeatedly insisted it was “taking the time to get this right” and has suggested “many businesses will already be largely compliant with the code so there will be no cost at all”.
What does the new single-sex spaces guidance say?
The code, which covers England, Scotland and Wales, confirmed a service must be used on the basis of biological sex in order for it to be classed as single-sex under the Equality Act, as per the Supreme Court ruling.
This means single-sex toilets, changing rooms, hospital wards and refuges must be used based on a person’s birth sex, not the gender with which they identify.
It has been suggested unisex services such as self-contained lockable cubicles could ensure provision of toilets and changing rooms for all, with the code noting it would be “very unlikely to be proportionate to put a trans person in a position where there is no service that they are allowed to use”.
Press Association analysis suggests nearly 13,000 toilets and more than 5000 changing rooms could have to be revamped at gyms, hospitals and leisure centres across Britain at a cost of millions as a result of the guidance.
At least 18,000 signs might also need to be changed, according to figures obtained by PA through a Freedom of Information request to the EHRC earlier this year.
Public-sector bodies, such as local councils, are estimated to face unadjusted costs for cleaning the new-look facilities totalling £20.6 million, together with £14.2m per year for building work – though these sums could rise even higher.
The updated guidance affects service providers such as restaurants, leisure centres and hairdressers; public functions such as council services; and associations such as local sports clubs with at least 25 members.
Appearing before the Women and Equalities committee in June, Phillipson – who has since lost her previous post as education secretary under Andy Burnham’s new premiership but kept her equalities role – said it is her expectation that “because this is a very contested space, there will continue to be further debate, challenge, scrutiny, legal challenge”.
She told MPs at the time: “That would be the case, whatever the draft code said.”
Asked if she was worried about the financial and more general impact of legal challenges and “lawfare” on organisations, she said while she understands some, particularly smaller ones without access to big budgets, might find this area “difficult”, she believes the code “provides for what is needed across the protected characteristics”.
The Scottish Greens' equalities spokesperson, Kate Nevens MSP, said: “This is a major setback for human rights and a day that many trans people, and those who love them, have been dreading.
"The new guidance will shut trans people out of spaces and services they have used safely for years. It sends a message that they are less welcome in public life and forces them to weigh up the risk of humiliation or confrontation every time they leave the house.
“This comes at a time when hate crimes are rising and many trans people already feel increasingly vulnerable simply because of who they are.
"The damage won't stop there. This guidance invites suspicion, confrontation and intrusive questioning of anyone who doesn't conform to narrow ideas of how people should look.
"Businesses, employers and public bodies are being asked to implement rules that are unfair, unworkable and costly, and that will leave people less safe.
"The Scottish Government must now provide clear leadership and set out how public bodies and organisations can uphold everyone's rights, dignity and safety."
