Six London councils pledge to keep trans-inclusive services despite new EHRC guidancehttps://www.thepinknews.com/2026/08/06/london-councils-ehrc-guidance/ 🔗Sian Thompson (6 Aug 2026)
The leaders of Lambeth, Hackney, Haringey, Lewisham, Southwark and Waltham Forest boroughs issued a joint letter yesterday (5 August) – the day that EHRC's single-sex spaces guidance officially came into force in England, Scotland and Wales.
Because of this guidance, access to public single-sex spaces such as toilets, changing rooms and rape crisis centres should now be determined by person's sex as it was assigned at birth.
The Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat-led boroughs said they would not require staff to "police" access to public spaces, arguing the guidance would make transgender and non-binary residents feel under attack.
While some councils say they will continue operating inclusive services, legal challenges have already begun, with Hackney being served a formal legal challenge due to failure to provide services exclusively for cis women, as reported by The Times.
EHRC chair Mary-Ann Stephenson warned in a statement to Times Radio that public bodies remain legally "obliged to follow the law".
