Select committee: Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 17
Third report- Reform of the Gender Recognition Act
Published 21 Dec 2021
Paragraph 135
Addressed to Government Equalities Office
Women and Equalities Committee Reform of the Gender Recognition Act All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Transparency around the operation and decision-making of the Gender Recognition Panel is a concern to many people applying for a Gender Recognition Certificate. It is clear to us that the existence of the Panel itself can, at times, discourage people from applying for a GRC. We believe that another system should exist in place of the Gender Recognition Panel which allows for greater transparency. We note Scotland’s proposed changes to replace the Gender Recognition Panel with the Registrar General for Scotland and we believe this could be a move in the right direction. We heard conflicting evidence on whether the Gender Recognition Panel is providing the feedback that it is supposed to. We recommend that the Government conduct a review on whether the Gender Recognition Panel could be removed and replaced with the Registrar General for England and Wales, who already has a number of existing functions under the Gender Recognition Act. In the interim, more needs to be done to improve the transparency around the operation and role of the Panel. The GEO should satisfy itself that the Panel is carrying out its feedback requirements in line with the GRA and provide reassurance in response to this report. We recommend that the Government conduct a review on whether the Gender Recognition Panel could be removed and replaced with the Registrar General for England and Wales, who already has a number of existing functions under the Gender Recognition Act. In the interim, more needs to be done to improve the transparency around the operation Reform of the Gender Recognition Act 75 and role of the Panel. The GEO should satisfy itself that the Panel is carrying out its feedback requirements in line with the GRA and provide reassurance in response to this report
From: Women and Equalities Committee, Third report- Reform of the Gender Recognition Act (HC 977), paragraph 135, 21 December 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 24 March 2022 (deadline 21 February 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that its September 2020 position on the Gender Recognition Act "is right and appropriate" and that it will not change the legislation, while pointing to administrative improvements such as the fee cut and digitisation.
- On the diagnosis of gender dysphoria, the government declines to remove it, saying the requirements ensure the process is "rigorous", but says it will amend the reference to a "disorder" via a remedial order "in due course".
- It does not consider it necessary to change the statutory declaration, and considers it "equitable" for spousal consent to remain, as it is a safeguard for the non-transitioning spouse.
- It says the digital application process is in testing and "will be operational by summer 2022", and that applicants can still use the paper process if they prefer.
- It does not consider a formal healthcare strategy for transgender and non-binary people necessary, while DHSC says it is "happy to provide the Committee with annual updates" on the pilot clinics' progress and waiting times.