Reform the Gender Recognition Act.
137,271 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 24 July 2020; it closed on 24 January 2021. The Government responded on 7 October 2020. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 21 February 2022.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Reform the Gender Recognition Act.
Reform the GRA to allow transgender people to self-identify without the need for a medical diagnosis, to streamline the administrative process, and to allow non-binary identities to be legally recognised.
The response gathered by the government showed strong support for this reform with 70% in favour, but the results seem to have been ignored by policy makers.
The current process is distressing and often humiliating for transgender people, as well as lengthy and costly making it inaccessible to many people. Reform is needed to improve the lives of trans people, and I don't think the proposed measures will negatively impact existing provisions under the Equalities Act.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 7 October 2020; the petitions site lists the Cabinet Office as responsible. Its summary:
We want transgender people to be free to live and prosper in modern Britain. The Government looked carefully at the issues raised and believe that this legislation strikes the right balance.
The response in full:
We want transgender people to be free to live and to prosper in modern Britain. We have looked carefully at the issues raised in the consultation, including potential changes to the Gender Recognition Act 2004.
It is the Government’s view that the balance struck in this legislation is correct, in that there are proper checks and balances in the system and also support for people who want to change their legal sex.
We will make the gender recognition certificate process kinder and more straightforward. We will streamline the administrative process and cut bureaucracy by enabling applications via gov.uk and we will also reduce the fee from £140 to a nominal amount.
We know from our research that improving healthcare support is a priority for transgender people. That’s why we’re opening at least three new gender clinics this year, which should see waiting lists cut by around 1,600 patients by 2022, and why the GEO is providing funding for the Dr Michael Brady, the UK’s National LGBT Health Advisor, and working with him and the NHS to improve transgender people’s experience.
It is also important that we protect single-sex spaces in line with the Equality Act. The law is clear that service providers are able to restrict access to single sex spaces on the basis of biological sex.
Together this upholds the rights of transgender people and women, ensures that our system is kinder and more straightforward, and addresses the concerns of transgender people.
Government's Equalities Office
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 896, came from Cities of London and Westminster.
135,228 of the signatures were from the UK and 2,043 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Cities of London and Westminster | 896 |
| Brighton, Pavilion | 890 |
| Bristol West | 763 |
| City of Durham | 667 |
| Lewisham, Deptford | 640 |
| Hackney North and Stoke Newington | 597 |
| Manchester Central | 578 |
| Hackney South and Shoreditch | 577 |
| Norwich South | 572 |
| Cambridge | 562 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| London | 20,471 |
| South East | 19,888 |
| North West | 13,679 |
| East of England | 12,465 |
| South West | 12,221 |
| Scotland | 11,835 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 10,144 |
| West Midlands | 9,329 |
| East Midlands | 8,808 |
| Wales | 5,913 |
| North East | 5,316 |
| Northern Ireland | 2,072 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 21 February 2022. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/327108.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
8402b5c851ac8fb9… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.