The Welsh Conservatives have written to the Cabinet Secretary for Education demanding urgent clarity on whether new Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance will be implemented in schools across Wales.
In a letter to the Education Minister, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education Sam Rowlands MS said schools, teachers and parents were being left in uncertainty following the UK Supreme Court ruling on the Equality Act and the publication of updated EHRC guidance.
Mr Rowlands has asked the Welsh Government to confirm whether schools in Wales will be expected to follow the guidance, including on issues such as single-sex spaces, safeguarding, changing facilities and sports participation.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Minister for Education, Families and Constitution, Sam Rowlands MS said:
“Parents, teachers and pupils deserve clarity from the Welsh Government.
“Schools cannot be left in limbo while Ministers avoid making a decision on such an important safeguarding and legal issue.
“The Equality Act applies in Wales, and schools now need clear guidance on what this means in practice.”
The letter also asks whether the Welsh Government intends to issue updated guidance to schools, whether policies will need to change, and whether Wales intends to diverge from the approach being taken elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
- Toilets and changing rooms must be used on basis of biological sex, guidance confirms
- The letter to the Education Minister can be found attached.
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