Six Ministers give evidence on transgender equality
28 October 2015
Women and Equalities Committee holds its final evidence session for its inquiry into transgender equality with evidence from six Government Ministers.
- Watch Parliament TV: Transgender equality
- Follow the inquiry on Twitter with #transinquiry
- Inquiry: Transgender equality
- Women and Equalities Committee
This session covers a wide range of issues raised by inquiry witnesses, including specialist organisations, medical and legal experts, and by the hundreds of individuals who have written to the Committee about their own experiences.
Witnesses
Wednesday 28 October 2015, Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House
First panel
At 2.30pm
Jane Ellison – Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, Department of Health
Issues covered
- Gender identity services
- Adults: possible improvements to current services including waiting times
- Children: appropriate treatment for gender variant children
Karen Bradley – Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation), Home Office
Issues covered
- Tackling hate crime effectively
- Possible inclusion of non-gendered status (*X) in passports
Ed Vaizey – Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy, Department for Culture, Media and Sport / Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Issues covered
- Media regulation: current regulatory arrangements and protection from transphobic coverage
- Sport: operation of the rules which allow exclusion from single sex sporting activities
Second panel
At 3.45pm
Nick Boles – Minister of State for Skills, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills / Department for Education
Issues covered
- Workplace equality and discrimination in employment
Nicky Morgan – Secretary of State for Education; Minister for Women and Equalities, Government Equalities Office (Department for Education)
Issues covered
- Government action plan: cross departmental plans.
- Looked-after young trans people (ie in care)
- Equality Act 2010: possible reforms, including terminology, and whether the protected characteristic should be changed to just gender identity
Caroline Dinenage – Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women, Equalities and Family Justice, Ministry of Justice / Government Equalities Office (Department for Education)
Issues covered
- Gender Recognition Act: whether individuals be allowed to self-define. See also recent petition to Petitions Committee; petitioner gave evidence to this inquiry
- Privacy, data protection issues and ‘outing'
- The 'spousal veto' – under which married trans people need their spouse's agreement before a full Gender Recognition Certificate can be issued
Further information
Image: iStockphoto