Consultations
Reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004
Deadline 19th October
Trans people are able to receive legal recognition of their acquired gender through a process set out in the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) 2004. Since the GRA came into force, only 4,910 people have legally changed their gender. This is fewer than the number of trans respondents to the government’s LGBT survey, who were clear that they wanted legal recognition but had not applied because they found the current process too bureaucratic, expensive and intrusive. The government therefore seeks your views on how to reform the legal recognition process.
The consultation focuses on the Gender Recognition Act 2004. They are not proposing any amendments to the Equality Act 2010.
This consultation does not consider the question of whether trans people exist, whether they have the right to legally change their gender, or whether it is right for a person of any age to identify with another gender, or with no gender. Trans and non-binary people are members of our society and should be treated with respect. Trans people already have the right to legally change their gender, and there is no suggestion of this right being removed. This consultation simply asks how best government might make the existing process under the Gender Recognition Act a better service for those trans and non-binary people who wish to use it.
For more information and to take part go to the Government website
NHS Evidence-Based Interventions programme
Deadline 28th September
Research evidence shows some interventions are not clinically effective or only effective when they are performed in specific circumstances. And as medical science advances, some interventions are superseded by those that are less invasive or more effective.
At both national and local levels, there is a general consensus that more needs to be done to ensure the least effective interventions are not routinely performed, or only performed in more clearly defined circumstances.
The proposals aim to reduce avoidable harm to patients, save precious professional time, help clinicians maintain their professional practice in line with the changing evidence base, create headroom for innovation and maximise value and avoid waste for patients and taxpayers.
The NHS are publicly consulting on the design principles of the programme, the interventions they should target initially and proposed clinical criteria, the activity goals they should set and delivery actions, including proposed new terms in the NHS Standard Contract.
Bus Services Act 2017: bus open data
Deadline 16th September
The Department for Transport is seeking views on ways to improve information for bus passengers through the Bus Services Act 2017 and open data legislation.
Their proposed approach would require operators and local authorities to publish open data digitally for buses in England (outside London). They want to make it easier for bus passengers to plan their journeys through access to routes and timetables data, fares and tickets data, and real time information.
This ‘Bus open data: case for change’ document sets out the case for bus open data.
Bus Services Act 2017: accessible information
Deadline 16th September
The Department for Transport is seeking views on ways to improve information for bus passengers through the Bus Services Act 2017 and accessible information regulations.
The Department want to introduce regulations that require bus operators to provide audible and visible information on local bus services to help people identify:
- the route and direction of services
- each upcoming stop
- points at which diversions start or end
They intend to specify when this information must be made available and to what standard, leaving it up to operators to select equipment or process that works for them. They propose an approach which recognises the risks to smaller operators, marginal services and community transport.
Impact of social media on young people’s mental health and wellbeing: call for evidence
Deadline 13th August
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Social Media and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing has launched an enquiry into managing the impact of social media on young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
The APPG invites all stakeholders including children and young people, professionals and voluntary sector workers who work directly with young people, and representatives from social media companies and from the digital technology industry to submit evidence.
For more information and to submit evidence go to the Royal Society for Public Health’s website
