Delay to government transgender guidance for schools after elements deemed unlawful
The government has delayed publishing its long-awaited transgender guidance for schools after its own legal advisors concluded some of the suggested elements would be unlawful, Sky News understands.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had promised to bring out the advice during the summer term, which comes to an end this week for most state schools.
But it is understood that three of the suggestions – including banning pupils from socially transitioning at school – would have been in breach of the Equalities Act.
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Social transitioning means a child living in the role of their chosen gender, changing their name, pronouns or appearance as a result.
The other proposals in question are around schools requiring a doctor’s approval before a pupil can socially transition – known as a “medical gateway” – and advising teachers not to use a child’s chosen pronouns if they do not wish to do so.
Allies of the Attorney General, Victoria Prentis KC, said the government’s three law officers had advised that because some of the suggested guidance came up against the Equality Act, the government would only be able to go further on this issue if they introduced new legislation.
“This is a call for the prime minister now,” they said. “The Attorney General is in favour of the government being stronger on this.”
Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Mr Sunak said: “This is a really complex and sensitive issue because it affects the wellbeing of our children, and it’s important that we get it right given those complexities and sensitivities.
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Trans guidance for schools ‘complex issue’
“I am committed to bringing forward that guidance, but I want to make sure that we’ve taken the time to go through it properly and when we do bring it forward, it will be well thought through.”
The PM promised back in March that the government would publish transgender guidance for schools in the summer term “so they know how to respond when children are asking about their gender”.
It is understood the strength of the guidance has been the subject of longstanding debate between different cabinet ministers.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office said: “By longstanding convention, reflected in the ministerial code, whether the law officers have been asked to provide legal advice and the content of any advice is not disclosed outside government without their explicit consent. That consent is rarely given.”
The prime minister’s spokesperson earlier said “this is a sensitive area, we do think more evidence is required before publishing”, but insisted more details will be set out as soon as possible.
Politics
What is the loophole that allowed a family in Gaza permission to come to UK on a Ukraine resettlement scheme?
A “loophole” that allowed a Palestinian family to be granted the right to come to the UK under a Ukrainian resettlement scheme was the subject of a lot of debate in the House of Commons today.
Both the prime minister and leader of the opposition criticised a decision by a judge to allow the family of six the right to enter the UK.
Sir Keir pledged to close the “loophole” after he was asked about it by Kemi Badenoch – but could not elaborate on what it was.
Sky News has read through the judgment given by Judge Hugo Norton-Taylor to understand what happened.
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Why did the family apply?
The family of six, a husband and wife and their children aged 18, 17, eight and seven, lived in Gaza and their homes were destroyed after the 7 October attacks and subsequent conflict.
They ended up living in a humanitarian zone and then a refugee camp.
In January 2024, the family applied to come to the UK via the Ukraine Family Scheme form, in a bid to join one of the parent’s brothers, who is a British citizen and has lived in the UK since 2007.
While they acknowledged they were not eligible for the Ukraine scheme, the family chose to apply in an attempt to use the Home Office‘s policy on “applications for entry clearance outside the rules”.
The Home Office rejected the request, saying they were not satisfied there were “compelling, compassionate circumstances” to justify a request outside the rules.
They also noted the lack of a resettlement scheme for Palestinians.
Read more:
Judge ‘wrong’ to let Gaza family settle in UK
Palestinian family allowed to settle in UK
The appeals
Despite the Home Office saying there were no grounds to appeal, the family launched one against the decision on human rights grounds.
A judge then ruled that the initial rejection constituted a rejection of human rights, and so allowed an appeal.
Part of this appeal was under Article Eight of the European Convention on Human Rights – the right to a family life between the man living in Britain and his family in Gaza.
This appeal was rejected, with a lack of a Palestinian resettlement scheme noted as a reason.
An appeal was launched at a higher tribunal – and one of the arguments was that the case should be considered on its own merits and not allow the lack of a Palestinian resettlement scheme to outweigh other arguments.
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The loophole
It is here that the “loophole” seems to have appeared.
At this point. Judge Norton-Taylor heard the case and allowed the appeal.
In his judgment, he stated that it was “wrong to have taken the absence of a resettlement scheme into account at all”.
The judge added that there was “no evidence” he had seen that the Home Office had made a deliberate decision not to implement a Palestinian resettlement scheme.
He also noted that the lack of immigration rules on a topic should not count against someone.
In layman’s terms, the argument seems to be that just because a scheme to resettle people does not exist it does not mean they are banned from coming to the UK via humanitarian routes.
The judgment said the absence of a “resettlement scheme was irrelevant” to their decision.
What next?
Judge Norton-Taylor went on to back the claim from the family in Gaza based on the ECHR and the right to a family life between them and their relative in Britain.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Ukraine Family scheme was clearly set out for Ukrainians. We have been clear that we do not agree with this judgment and we twice vigorously contested this case.
“As the prime minister made clear, article 8, the right to a family life, should be interpreted much more narrowly. It is for the government and Parliament to decide who should be covered by the UK’s safe and legal routes.
“We are pursuing all legal avenues to address the legal loophole which has been exploited in this case. The home secretary is urgently reviewing this case to ensure the correct processes are always followed and existing laws correctly interpreted.”
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They added that there was no evidence to support the argument and that data from the government shows a “very small” number of Gazans have been allowed to enter the UK – equal to roughly 150.
Sir Keir said he was planning to close the loophole, but it is not clear what this will entail.
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