West Berkshire Trans Group Slams Confusing Toilet Rules

West Berkshire's trans group has slammed new rules on who can use which toilets and public facilities as 'utterly confusing'. Businesses and council services are scrambling to work out what to offer before the new code takes effect on August 5.

Proud to be Trans in West Berkshire (PTBTWB), with Newbury Pride and the Beaumont Society, has countersigned a letter from TransActual being sent to MPs.

Andrea Brookes from PTBTWB said: "As guidance it is about as clear as mud," and added, "Anyone trying to figure this out has my greatest sympathies."

The group suggests making toilets gender neutral where possible, pointing to council-run facilities that already use joint changing areas with individual booths.

The TransActual letter warns: "If Bridget Phillipson, minister for women and equalities, does not make provision for a debate, this new code - a likely bathroom ban - will come into effect automatically, without any democratic debate or a vote in Parliament, 40 days after she publishes it."

TransActual also says the changes "undermine the rights and dignity of both trans and cisgender people while also creating legal and logistical risks for businesses, service providers and public bodies."

The updated Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Code of Practice targets services, public functions and associations and emphasises managing single-sex spaces on the basis of biological sex rather than acquired gender identity, following recent court clarifications.

That will influence West Berkshire businesses that run public-facing services or shared workplace facilities, though it does not change the separate statutory employment code.

The code does not alter employers' obligations under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, which still require suitable sanitary conveniences with separate facilities for men and women unless each is a separate room that locks from the inside.

TransActual warned of real-world harm: "Reports have revealed that trans and, in many cases, cisgender people are facing humiliation, forced outing, violence, vigilantism, and wholesale exclusion - whether they try and follow the discriminatory rules or not."

PTBTWB said it "stands in solidarity with the vast majority of the United Kingdom's charities, support groups and LGBTQIA+ organisations in condemning the statements issued by the EHRC" and added on its website: "We are deeply saddened to see these statements and concerned that the EHRC has decided to give equal weight to a small group of vocal activists over the scientific and medical evidence that overwhelmingly disagrees with this viewpoint and the content of the statements."

West Berkshire Council has been asked for details of its plans but has not responded. Local venues, leisure centres and council buildings may need to review signage, reallocate single-sex areas or consider self-contained gender-neutral options where feasible.

Niki Hinman, Local Democracy Reporter