Current Version
| Region | United Kingdom |
| Issue | Censorship of LGBT issues |
| Status | No censorship |
| Start Date | Nov 18, 2003 |
| End Date | (none) |
| Description | The infamous section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 was repealed by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003. Since then, there have been no laws censoring LGBTIQ+ topics in the United Kingdom. However, in May 2024, draft guidance on sex education in British schools was released by the Department for Education, which seeks to ban schools from teaching children any information about gender identity if implemented. However, these were proposed by the conservative government, which was removed from power two months later. In June 2025, the Labour government announced that this draft guidance would become statutory from September 2026, with additional emphasis on teaching the outcome of the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of sex in the Equality Act to avoid recognising transgender identities as valid. The guidance instructs that "people have legal rights by virtue of their biological sex which are different from the rights of those of the opposite sex with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment" and that schools "should not teach as fact that all people have a gender identity". |
| Sources | www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/26/section/122 https://database.ilga.org/api/downloader/download/1/GB%20-%20EXE%20-%20New%20draft%20guidance%20on%20Relationships,%20Sex%20and%20Health%20Education%20(RSHE)%20in%20British%20schools%20(2024)%20-%20OR-OFF(en).pdf https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education#full-publication-update-history |
Revision History (7)
| Old Value | New Value (Current) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sources | www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/26/section/122 https://database.ilga.org/api/downloader/download/1/GB%20-%20EXE%20-%20New%20draft%20guidance%20on%20Relationships,%20Sex%20and%20Health%20Education%20(RSHE)%20in%20British%20schools%20(2024)%20-%20OR-OFF(en).pdf | www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/26/section/122 https://database.ilga.org/api/downloader/download/1/GB%20-%20EXE%20-%20New%20draft%20guidance%20on%20Relationships,%20Sex%20and%20Health%20Education%20(RSHE)%20in%20British%20schools%20(2024)%20-%20OR-OFF(en).pdf https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education#full-publication-update-history |
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edited by sabacc. The current entry implies the draft guidance was shelved after the election.
Helpful?
0 | Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | The infamous section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 was repealed by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003. Since then, there have been no laws censoring LGBTIQ+ topics in the United Kingdom. However, in May 2024, draft guidance on sex education in British schools was released by the Department for Education, which seeks to ban schools from teaching children any information about gender identity if implemented. However, these were proposed by the conservative government, which was removed from power two months later. | The infamous section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 was repealed by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003. Since then, there have been no laws censoring LGBTIQ+ topics in the United Kingdom. However, in May 2024, draft guidance on sex education in British schools was released by the Department for Education, which seeks to ban schools from teaching children any information about gender identity if implemented. However, these were proposed by the conservative government, which was removed from power two months later. In June 2025, the Labour government announced that this draft guidance would become statutory from September 2026, with additional emphasis on teaching the outcome of the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of sex in the Equality Act to avoid recognising transgender identities as valid. The guidance instructs that "people have legal rights by virtue of their biological sex which are different from the rights of those of the opposite sex with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment" and that schools "should not teach as fact that all people have a gender identity". |
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edited by jadeywadey. adding detaiil - policy unlikely to take effect as its the old gov
Helpful?
1 | Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | The infamous section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 was repealed by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003. Since then, there have been no laws censoring LGBTIQ+ topics in the United Kingdom. However, in May 2024, draft guidance on sex education in British schools was released by the Department for Education which seeks to ban schools from teaching children any information about gender identity if implemented. | The infamous section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 was repealed by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003. Since then, there have been no laws censoring LGBTIQ+ topics in the United Kingdom. However, in May 2024, draft guidance on sex education in British schools was released by the Department for Education, which seeks to ban schools from teaching children any information about gender identity if implemented. However, these were proposed by the conservative government, which was removed from power two months later. |
Show Difference | ||
edited by DaisyGeekyTrans. Adding information about new proposed law that might change status soon.
Helpful?
0 | Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | The infamous section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 was repealed by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003. | The infamous section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 was repealed by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003. Since then, there have been no laws censoring LGBTIQ+ topics in the United Kingdom. However, in May 2024, draft guidance on sex education in British schools was released by the Department for Education which seeks to ban schools from teaching children any information about gender identity if implemented. |
Show Difference | ||
| Sources | www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/26/section/122 | www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/26/section/122 https://database.ilga.org/api/downloader/download/1/GB%20-%20EXE%20-%20New%20draft%20guidance%20on%20Relationships,%20Sex%20and%20Health%20Education%20(RSHE)%20in%20British%20schools%20(2024)%20-%20OR-OFF(en).pdf |
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edited by jadeywadey. improved description and not federal law
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0 | Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Previous law repealed by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003. | The infamous section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 was repealed by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003. |
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| Federal Law | Yes | No |