UCLan launches review of toilet and changing facilities after supreme court ruling

PLUS: Stroke care under the microscope in Lancashire hospitals

Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.

The Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that single-sex spaces should be based on biological sex has been a challenge for a number of institutions (though, it’s important to note, that’s less than the challenges for people who are transgender).

For universities though, it is a unique challenge.

That’s because the attitudes towards trans people are considerably more likely to be positive inside universities.

Studies have shown that the further up the education ladder people travel, the more likely they are to reject prejudice towards trans people - with those who have gained a degree the most likely. The same study showed that women are more likely to feel admiration or respect to the trans community than men - and 57% of the student population is female.

It’s important to note those studies are from 2020 and scepticism towards transgender rights has only grown since then across all demographics. But even with that growth, young people are still far more likely to be supportive, though the gap has narrowed on the topic of single sex spaces in particular.

All of this puts universities in the awkward spot of having to review their policies, given their facilities are used most prevalently by young people who may not be supportive of that Supreme Court ruling.

Today’s newsletter looks in-depth at how UCLan and its students are adapting to the change.

For paid subscribers, we report on the issue of how lack of qualified staff in a particular area of the NHS may have contributed to the death of a 45-year-old woman.

UCLan. Credit: The Lancashire Lead

By Michael Holmes

The University of Central Lancashire has launched a review of its toilet and changing facilities after a landmark supreme court ruling that single-sex services should be reserved for people of the same biological sex.

The decision, which has implications for the university and other institutions, confirmed that single-sex spaces must now be based on people’s sex at birth rather than how they now identify.

While protections for trans and non-binary people remain under the Equality Act, the ruling has forced organisations, including UCLan, to reassess how they manage gendered facilities - and who can use them.

The issue was discussed at a recent university board meeting, held at the four-star Belsfield Hotel overlooking Lake Windermere, with vice-chancellor Professor Graham Baldwin giving details of the review in a report.

“The university was working in consultation with the sector to ensure compliance with the supreme court ruling which confirmed that ‘sex’ was defined as biological sex, noting that protections for trans people were still in place ,” documents seen by The Lancashire Lead say.

“Whilst the Equality Act had always made provision for single-sex spaces, these were now based on biological sex.

“The main areas for the university to consider related to toilet and washing facilities where discussions were ongoing with (the) Estates (department), and sports where the university would comply with the stance taken by the respective governing bodies.”

Board member Lesley Lloyd told the meeting that several law firms, including Dentons, had published guidance on the implications of the supreme court ruling.

Elouisa Crichton, an employment and discrimination law specialist at Dentons, said UCLan would likely be “doing some kind of audit of their campus and what facilities they currently have”.

She told The Lancashire Lead: “That is helpful to know because you then know where you are most likely to face some kind of issue.

“If you only have male or female facilities, you may now have people who feel uncomfortable.

“The risk is a trans woman - who was born male but now lives and appears female - may have to use male toilets.”

Building and reconfiguration work could follow the audit, Crichton suggested, with more gender-neutral facilities possibly needed - but in addition to gendered ones.

She said: “Some people will say it’s very important to have a female-only toilet. What’s more likely to happen (than only having gender-neutral facilities) is a bigger mix of facilities and making sure people know where they are.”

The terms “woman” and “sex” in the 2010 Equality Act “refer to a biological woman and biological sex”, the UK’s supreme court decided in April.

Britain’s equalities watchdog released draft guidance on a string of related topics, including trans people’s participation in sport and use of toilets.

It said trans women “should not be permitted to use the women’s facilities” in workplaces or public-facing services like shops and hospitals, with the same rule applying for trans men using men’s toilets.

A birth certificate can be requested by a sports club or hospital if there is “genuine concern” about someone’s biological sex, according to the draft from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The guidance also said trans people can be excluded from competitive sport “when necessary for reasons of safety or fair competition”.

And it said some services may be able to adapt to “offer toilets in individual lockable rooms to be used by both sexes”.

The code said a service only for women and trans women - or only for men and trans men - is not a “separate-sex or single-sex service” under the Equality Act and could discriminate against those of the opposite sex who are not allowed to use it.

Concrete and more expansive guidance was meant to be released last month but has now been delayed until later this year after the commission said it received more than 50,000 responses to its code of practice consultation.

Crichton, from Dentons, said one difficulty faced by UCLan will be its status as both a service provider and employer, with the upcoming guidance not aimed at employers.

UCLan, which has campuses across Lancashire and will soon change its name to the University of Lancashire, was asked a number of questions by The Lancashire Lead.

They include what practical steps it has taken regarding toilets, changing rooms and sports facilities - and if it is planning to create unisex or gender-neutral spaces.

It was also asked how it is maintaining anti-discrimination protections for trans students in light of the ruling.

And it was asked about any actions or guidance it has issued to relevant departments or sports clubs on campus.

A spokesperson for the university said: “We are awaiting the final code of practice for services, public functions and associations, which the EHRC is currently reviewing in the light of the supreme court judgement and recent consultation.

“In the meantime, we are reviewing our support for trans students and colleagues, including revising our trans inclusion guidance and any related areas.

“The university already provides a range of facilities, e.g. single sex and mixed toilets, and is considering any further action required to implement the final code of practice.

“Our university policies and procedures relating to harassment and discrimination cover all protected characteristics in the Equality Act.”

In light of the court’s ruling, Sophie Barratt, vice-president of activities at UCLan’s students’ union, said she “felt it necessary to address” the issue and wrote online to “reassure our community that this does not change who is welcome in the women’s gym space”.

She said: “This space remains open to all who self-identify as a woman, including trans women and non-binary individuals.

“I believe this ruling is a setback to the progress made by the trans community and its allies.

“To our trans and non-binary students: this space was created to be inclusive, safe and welcoming - and that hasn’t changed.

“You are welcome and encouraged to use this space.”

Barratt, who spearheaded the Claim Your Space campaign to create a woman-only gym space at Preston’s Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre, was contacted for a comment.

Trans woman and activist Avery Greatorex, a former UCLan student and ex-trans rep, said she is “incredibly worried about the ruling” but “proud to have used this as an opportunity to lead the renewed push for trans liberation”.

She said: “I have seen no difference as of yet in the handling of gendered spaces from UCLan.”

Greatorex, a representative for the students’ union, said the university has “engaged with me and other involved trans students to make sure that we are working in the best interest of those students”.

She added: “We were already working through our transgender policy before the ruling and the ruling has not impacted our work in this.”

She continued: “I am personally comfortable with these facilities as our new buildings are fully gender-neutral (enclosed single-occupancy toilet rooms) and the SU has a gender-neutral shared bathroom.

“I believe this ruling has actually encouraged staff to be more vocal supporters of transgender students. We have some really strong allies and that network is growing.

“It is absolutely the responsibility of any union to question and critique a university policy that negatively impacts a marginalised group of students.

“I don’t like to speculate on university policies and procedures but if the university chooses a negative path, I have full faith that the union will continue to support trans students in times of crisis, like they have been doing for a good few years.”

Sarah Hannett, a barrister for the human rights group Liberty, told a court in June that the supreme court’s ruling has “altered the landscape radically and suddenly” and has the ability to change the way trans people access single-sex spaces.

Some businesses have stopped trans women from using women’s toilets and trans men from using men’s toilets, Hannett said, while the British Transport Police had updated its strip-search policy, causing “understandable distress” to trans people.

In May, the union representing university workers called on employers to support staff rights to use gendered facilities matching their gender identities.

Its congress also voted to “stand shoulder to shoulder with the trans community”.

Delegates at the University and College Union’s congress backed four motions committing the group to “fight back against unprecedented attacks on trans people’s human rights”.

General secretary Jo Grady said: “We refuse to allow trans people to be the collateral of a right-wing culture war and while they continue to experience violence at home, in the workplace and on the airwaves, we will stand by them.”

One of the motions saw the UCU resolve to urge universities to support workers’ right to use the gendered spaces appropriate to them - saying the ruling contracts the current practices allowing it at most post-16 institutions.

A survey commissioned by gender-critical campaign charity Sex Matters has previously suggested that the supreme court was right to make its ruling, with almost three quarters of those polled agreeing that it was right for some sporting bodies to ban trans women from female competitions.

The group tasked YouGov with questioning 2,106 adults online in Britain.

Some 63% said the court made the right decision and 52% believed the ruling cleared up the law around women’s rights and how they apply to trans people.

On toilets, about a fifth believed trans people should use whichever facilities they prefer, with two fifths saying unisex facilities should be used.

A fifth felt trans women should use men’s toilets and 14% believed they should use the women’s.

Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said after the court’s ruling that the “logical consequence of the judgement” and later guidance suggests people should use facilities of their biological sex rather than gender identity.

He said there would be no “toilet police”, however.

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Lack of qualified staff may have contributed to death of 45-year-old woman

By Simon Drury

NHS bosses have admitted a lack of qualified staff may have contributed to the death of a 45-year-old woman after she suffered a stroke.