The Government has finally published the new Equality Act 2010: Draft Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations, 2026.

The Code updates guidance on how to implement the Equality Act as it applies to services, including charities, and includes changes since the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of sex as a protected characteristic. The Code now has a 40-day Parliamentary process before it becomes statutory guidance.

Several changes affect how trans and non-binary people will be able - or not - to access key public services when they are provided as single sex services.

We are very concerned about the impact of the updated Code which in places feels unclear and unworkable. At 342 pages there is a lot of information to process, and we will now be discussing with LGBTQ+ sector colleagues to better understand the duties on service providers.

We encourage others to look for trusted sources of information providing accurate analysis of the Code as organisations and service providers work through this.

We remain committed to providing safe spaces for trans and non-binary people.

If you are affected by this and wish to speak to someone you can call several LGBTQ+ organisations:

Switchboard
@switchboardlgbt
https://switchboard.lgbt/

LGBT Foundation
@lgbtfdn
https://lgbt.foundation/

Gendered Intelligence
@genderedintelligence
https://genderedintelligence.co.uk/

Galop
@galopuk
https://www.galop.org.uk/