No 10: ‘Common sense’ for public services to have data on biological sex

It is “common sense” for public services to have accurate information on biological sex, especially when it comes to healthcare, Downing Street has said.

The Health Secretary has already said he will act on the findings of an independent review that warned against conflating sex with gender identity when recording data.

Individuals have been able to change their gender marker on their NHS records while crime statistics have recorded some people’s preferred gender rather than their actual sex, according to Professor Anne Sullivan, who led the review commissioned by the previous government.

No 10 said that while gender should be recognised in some circumstances, the importance of biological sex when it comes to healthcare is “common sense”.

“It’s absolutely vital that public services across the board have got the right and accurate information and data when it comes to this topic, and this is particularly important when it comes to biological sex, for example (in) healthcare. I mean, it’s just common sense,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.

He said there is “existing guidance across the board” but the Prime Minister will look at specific concerns the report raised and follow up.

He stopped short of confirming that all public officials should be required to list biological sex in their data entry, saying there is “different guidance issued to different sectors”.

He said it had been the Government’s longstanding position that biological sex is vital to healthcare, in line with the Cass Review into gender identity services.

Civil servants are already taking action to make sure the right guidance is in place, he said.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting earlier said that having accurate data on biological sex is key for patient safety.

“Doing so does not prevent us from recording, recognising and respecting people’s gender identity where these differ. We’ll act on findings.”

Accurate data is especially important for preventative screening for cancer, a minister said earlier, while the Government said the report has been shared with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and other departments.

The report urged public bodies to collect data on both sex and gender identity to ensure that nationally-held data is accurate.

It recommended the Home Secretary orders police forces to record data on sex in their systems and stop allowing changes to be made to individual sex markers on the police national computer.

It also says new NHS numbers and changed gender markers should no longer be issued to individuals.

Doing so means data on sex could be “lost”, putting people at risk when it comes to clinical care, screening and safeguarding, as well as making it impossible to carry out research into gender transition over the course of people’s lives.

It flags a safeguarding risk to children in particular and urges the practice be suspended “as a matter of urgency”.

He also stressed the need for accurate public health data to have the “right prevention in health activities” and said the Government would look to the report in its work to prevent cancers, in remarks to Times Radio.

“What is important is that we recognise that the accurate collection of data is vital, not just for the public health component, which much of this report, I believe, majors on, but across government.”

Prof Sullivan said there is no reason for a “trade-off” between recording data on sex and gender.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there has been “a confusion between sex and transgender and gender diverse identities”, and attempts to “merge these two things into one variable”.

Ms Sullivan said: “It’s this confusion around the word ‘gender’, which I think everybody used to recognise as simply a synonym for ‘sex’, and it’s become something else – it’s become a way of recording gender diverse identities.

“What I’ve argued in this report is that sex is really important, we should be recording it by default – transgender and gender diverse identities can also be recorded where that’s appropriate.

“There’s no reason to see this as a trade-off between the two. They’re two distinct variables.”

She urged the Government to implement the recommendations “across the board”.

“We can’t just do it piece by piece, because this is everywhere.

“I’ve recommended that data on sex should be collected by default in all research and data collection commissioned by Government and quasi-governmental organisations, and I think implementing that would make a huge difference.

“I think we need leadership, because people are confused and they’re anxious.

“This is not a partisan issue and it’s very damaging when it starts to be seen as a partisan issue – it’s a basic common sense issue, not a left-right issue.”

A Government spokesperson said: “This Government is clear that the collection of accurate and relevant data is vital in research and the operation of effective public services, particularly when it comes to sex.

“We are grateful to Professor Sullivan for her work, which has been shared with relevant Government departments and public organisations, including the ONS.”