Cabinet Office Declines to Release Trans Guidance Circulated to Civil Servants in May

The Cabinet Office declined to release secret guidance on transgender civil servants' access to facilities that was circulated to departments in May. GB News reported that the office cited section 36 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, stating that releasing the material could prevent ministers and officials from sharing views freely. Documents marked sensitive later appeared on social media.

They set out that civil servants may not use facilities of their affirmed gender when those facilities are designated single-sex. The draft states that a Gender Recognition Certificate changes legal status in certain respects but does not alter sex for the purpose of accessing single-sex facilities.

The leaked policy follows the Supreme Court ruling in April 2025 that a Gender Recognition Certificate does not grant legal status as a woman for single-sex spaces.

It would replace 2019 Cabinet Office guidance that permitted civil servants to use facilities matching their gender identity and expression. Internal briefing papers seen by The Telegraph advised staff not to change the wording unless they had a compelling reason.

The papers noted that the proposals were likely to prove contentious and warned of strong opposing views among internal staff networks.

Under the draft, trans civil servants with questions about facilities must raise them with their line manager. Shadow Women and Equalities Minister Claire Coutinho said Labour was running scared of scrutiny of the secret guidance. Maya Forstater, chief executive of Sex Matters, called for the government to publish the replacement policy in full.