Single-sex spaces code comes into force after key ruling

Guidance on the use of toilets and changing rooms as single-sex spaces has come into force following a landmark Supreme Court ruling last year.

The updated code of practice by Britain's equalities regulator will provide examples of how the Equality Act applies and can be relied on in court if there are legal challenges.

The new code does not make or create new legal obligations; it simply provides organisations such as cafes and leisure centres with legally accurate and impartial 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 others called it "incredibly worrying for the trans community".

Women's and Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson has previously suggested legal challenges are expected "because this is a very contested space".

When the code, which covers England, Scotland and Wales, was published in draft form in May - having been updated for the first time in more than a decade - Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) chair Mary-Ann Stephenson described it as a "major milestone".

The code confirmed a service must be used based on biological sex 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 that unisex services, such as self-contained, lockable cubicles, could ensure the 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".

Analysis by the Press Association suggests nearly 13,000 toilets and over 5,000 changing rooms may need to be revamped at public-facing sites, at a cost of millions.

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At least 18,000 signs might also need to be changed, a Freedom of Information request by the news agency to the EHRC earlier in the year showed.

Public-sector bodies, such as local councils, are estimated to face unadjusted costs for cleaning the new-look facilities totalling £20.6m, together with £14.2m per year for building work.

In the face of previous criticism 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".

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.

(c) Sky News 2026: Single-sex spaces code comes into force after key ruling