From House of Commons Hansard
Written Answers: 19th January 2004

Department for Constitutional Affairs

19 Jan 2004 : Column 1052W

Gender Recognition

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent steps the Department has taken to promote gender recognition. [146668]

Mr. Lammy: The Department for Constitutional Affairs is responsible for Government policy on transsexual people and for the Gender Recognition Bill. The Bill, which was introduced in the House of Lords on 27 November, will see the advancement of the rights of transsexual people by giving them legal recognition in their acquired gender. From the inception in 1999 of the Interdepartmental Working Group on Transsexual People the Government have been careful to take into account the views of all those with an interest in transsexual issues, supporters and opponents. Transsexual people are a small minority group in our society and the issues around the recognition of an acquired gender are often unfamiliar to those not directly affected. Accordingly, the Government have worked closely with individual transsexual people and their representative organisations to better understand the issues and to ensure that the Bill strikes a sensible balance between their rights and the rights of others. The Department’s promotion of gender recognition issues has been limited to correspondence and meetings with the transsexual community and those who have

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expressed views on Transsexual policy and the Bill. My Department will continue to ensure that it regularly updates its website on transsexual issues, including the Gender Recognition Bill.

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