The Charity Commission responds to open letter on Equality Act 2010 and charity governance

The Charity Commission responds to open letter on Equality Act 2010 and charity governance

Last year's Supreme Court ruling that that the terms 'woman', 'man' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex has caused confusion within the charity sector, with some organisations excluding trans women from their member bases as a result.

In an open letter, the Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, David Holdsworth, said he has written to UK government ministers urging that the Code of practice prepared by the Equality and Human Rights Commission ('ECHR') is issued as soon as possible to assist charities in navigating their legal obligations following the ruling.

Until the Code of Practice is issued, as David Holdsworth noted, trustees may feel they must wait before making important decisions affecting their charities and their beneficiaries.

The draft Code of Practice was submitted to the UK government for approval by the EHRC on 4 September 2025.  If approved by the government, the Code of Practice will then be put before Parliament for review.