Information received today, Thursday 14 May 2026 from the House of Commons Enquiry Service in reply to my following questions –
The Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP, Minister for Women and Equalities announced in Parliament that she has received the EHRC Draft Code of Practice and Guidance and that she will lay this before parliament in May, as soon as possible after the elections on 07 May.
I would be grateful if you would provide answers to my following questions
- Will the public be advised once this happens?
- What are the legal processes during the period of 40 days following the laying before parliament and will the public be able to follow these steps?
- At what stages, if any, may interested members of the public make representation to parliament.
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The Reply -
I believe that you wished to obtain information regarding the codes of practice mentioned during question time on 29th April 2026 by the Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, the Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP.
Parliamentary procedure:-
As the codes of practice have yet to be laid before Parliament, I am afraid that it is difficult to provide detailed guidance regarding the legislation. However, I hope that the following is helpful.
Firstly, I believe that the legislation may be laid under the negative resolution procedure. You can find information regarding negative statutory instruments in the MPs' Guide to Procedure via this link.
The House of Commons Library has published a paper titled: Supreme Court judgment on the meaning of "sex" in the Equality Act 2010: For Women Scotland - House of Commons Library which says:
A draft code of practice was submitted to the government on 4 September 2025.
The government is currently considering the draft code. If it is approved it will be laid before Parliament for a period of 40 days. The draft code will then be subject to the negative resolution procedure. If neither House passes a resolution disapproving the draft within 40 days, the EHRC may issue the code in draft. The code will then come into force in accordance with an order made by the secretary of state.
On 14 April 2026 the government said in a written ministerial statement that it had received an updated draft from the EHRC on 13 April (PDF), following engagement and further legal analysis. It said that it was not possible to make any further announcement during the pre-election period for the devolved administrations, given that it would apply across the UK. However, it said the government is taking urgent action to meet its intention of laying the draft code before Parliament for scrutiny in May, and as soon as practicable after the election period.
Guidance regarding your questions:-
You also asked three questions concerning the codes of practice.
Firstly, if you wish to know when the legislation has been laid before Parliament, then please consult the Votes and Proceedings on the parliament website. The Votes and Proceedings is published every sitting day and provides a synopsis of business that has happened in the Chamber as well as papers which have been laid. This will be the first notification that the legislation has been laid before Parliament and what procedure it will follow.
You can find information regarding statutory instrument procedure on the parliament website here: What is Secondary Legislation? - UK Parliament. You can also follow the progress of statutory instruments via the Statutory Instruments tracker on the parliament website.
If you would like to share your thoughts regarding the legislation, then once it has been laid you can approach your local Member of Parliament or contact a member of the House of Lords. Guidance on how to do this can be found on this page: Contact an MP or member of the Lords - UK Parliament.
Alternatively, you can contact the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments. The Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments does not assess the merits of any instrument or the underlying policy, but ensures that the law is clear and follows the powers given to it by the parent Act. As such, the committee can take submissions from members of the public but only on points of law.
Further information:-
Finally, if you require further information regarding the legislation, then I recommend that you contact the Women and Equalities Unit - GOV.UK directly. The Women and Equalities Unit is part of the Cabinet Office and guidance on how to contact the department can be found on their website here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/contact-the-cabinet-office.
