A warm welcome to the July edition of our Newsletter!
Read on for news from the Sector, our Members and the Consortium Team.
Sector News
GIDS Guidance Summary
On the 9th June, NHS England published guidelines titled: 'Interim Service Specification: Interim Specialist Service for Children and Young People with Gender Incongruence'. These guidelines were for how the new hubs replacing GIDS (Gender Identity Development Service) at Tavistock will deliver healthcare to trans and non-binary children and young people. A public consultation on a draft interim service specification ran on NHS England's website from 20th October to 4th December 2022 which amassed 5,183 responses.
The stated intention of the draft interim service specification according to NHS England's website states: "The intention that the NHS will only commission puberty suppressing hormones as part of clinical research. This approach follows advice from Dr Hilary Cass' Independent Review highlighting the significant uncertainties surrounding the use of hormone treatments".
This guidance proposes that outside of a "research setting", puberty blockers should not be routinely used for children and young people who have gender incongruence/dysphoria. Trans and non-binary children and young people will not be taken off the current waiting list until the two new hubs are open.
To find out more about what has been specified in these guidelines, we would recommend watching Mermaids' "Five Things you need to know about NHS England's Guidelines for the New Hubs replacing GIDS at Tavistock" video and checking out the blog they have released around this.
Equality Act Reform Debate
On the 12th June, politicians at Westminster debated the altering of specific terms in the Equality Act 2010. The debate saw two different petitions being discussed, one of which called for the category of 'sex' under the Equality Act to be changed to "biological sex' (sex assigned at birth) and the other opposing these changes.
The debate over these petition's comes just two months after the EHRC published a letter which seemed to advocate for changes to be made to the Equality Act.
Trans Student Guidance
On the 18th of June, The Sun newspaper leaked Department of Education Policy Guidance for schools around Transgender Students.
This guidance allegedly advises schools to disclose to parents when students come out as trans, non-binary or gender questioning. It also advises that if students wish to start using a different name, pronouns or to wear a different uniform, that they must seek express permission from parents.
In March 2023, the Prime Minister released a statement that the UK Government would be releasing guidelines for schools on 'Issues of Gender Identity'.
A publication date has not yet been confirmed.
Gender Recognition Reform Bill
The Scottish Government are taking the UK Government to court in September to challenge the decision to block the Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Bill.
This bill was aimed at making the lives of trans people in Scotland easier by being able to obtain a GRC (Gender Recognition Certificate) through a Self-ID process rather than through a medical diagnosis. Despite the reform bill being passed by a majority of 88 to 83 in a full parliament vote in October 2022, it was blocked by the UK Government over fears of how it would impact the Equality Act 2010.
This case will be heard by judge Lady Haldane in a three-day hearing taking place between 19th-21st September.
Statement on the ruling in Mermaids V Charity Commission and LGB Alliance
On 6th July, the judgement of Mermaids V Charity Commission & LGB Alliance ruled that the case has been dismissed on the grounds that Mermaids did not have the legal right to challenge LGBA's Charity status.
The LGBT+ Futures Bi Fund is still open for applications from Bi+ led by and for organisations!
Thanks to a partnership with BiPride UK, and the research conducted by our Community Consultants, we are delighted to open this small grants programme specifically for Bi+ Organisations across the UK.
There is a total pot of £5,000 available to award, which will be distributed as community grants of up to £250 which can be used for general running costs or specific items.
Consortium Conference & Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Save The Date!
We are pleased to inform you that our next Conference & AGM will take place on Saturday 30th September 2023 in Central London.
More details will follow, but we wanted to share the date with you so that you can add it to your calendars!
Celebrating our Volunteers' Awards 2023 Nominees
Volunteers’ Week reminded us all to take the time to say thank you to the LGBTQIA+ volunteers who dedicate their time volunteering for the LGBTQIA+ sector. This is why we wanted to hold a LGBTQIA+ Volunteer Awards. We were overwhelmed by nominations to our Volunteer Awards and while not everyone won a prize, these nominations come highly commended!
We are recruiting one new board member who can help support and drive forward our strategic vision over the coming years. You will bring curiosity, positivity, energy and a collaborative spirit to the trustee role. Most of all, you will share our ambition for a flourishing and diverse LGBT+ third sector.
For this new board member, we are particularly interested in hearing from individuals who have a strong background in corporate environments, and who are well-networked with decision makers and influencers who could support Consortium's partnership building and income generation work.
Make your voice heard and contribute to our insight report about London's LGBTQIA+ sector!
With the combined insight of London’s LGBTQIA+ organisations, groups, and projects, we will be able to create a nuanced overview of the knowledge, challenges, and aspirations our LGBTQIA+ sector holds.
As an infrastructure organisation we know that our sector is underfunded and our capacity is stretched, and starting this year we will record and evidence this. With your help we will thoroughly document what LGBTQIA+ groups need to continue to deliver and further develop vital services and activities that support LGBTQIA+ people all over London.
We will also share the report widely with funders, local authorities, the GLA and statutory service providers and we will ask for their commitment to advance the actions outlined in the report.
You can share your perspective by completing our survey and/or by participating in a roundtable. Your input is not only incredibly valuable to us, all input combined will become an important tool that your and other LGBTQIA+ groups in London can use to build cases of support.
If you have any questions, feel welcome to email Nat and Marita on nat@consortium.lgbt and marita@consortium.lgbt.
Member News
Here is a summary of news from our Members over the last month. You can keep up-to-date with all the latest news by clicking on the button below.
Colours Youth Festival -
A Day Festival for LGBTQ Youth of Colour
A day long event for LGBTQ young people of colour to connect with other young people and explore identity, creativity and community.
Saturday 22nd July 2023
BCU Curzon Building, Birmingham
The festival is a day of workshops, social space, performances and more for LGBTQ young people of colour aged 16-25 from the UK*
The programme for the day will be released a few weeks before the event and you can sign up to workshops on the morning of the event. There will be a mixture of workshops from our last festival in 2020 and some new ones thrown in too.
For an idea of what to expect this year, at the 2020 festival we had workshops and talk spaces on on QTIPOC activism, vogue and runway basics, affirmations and self care, group singing, make up with LUSH, accessibility, patch making, trans poc history, religion and faith, coming out, indoor games and a key note from a special guest!
UK travel bursaries are available to support anyone unable to get to the festival.
We want to say a big thank you to UK Black Pride for a community grant towards this year’s festival and to Shake Shack for a generous donation towards the event too!
Live Through This will be hosting our annual LGBTIQ+ Cancer Conference on 22nd July from 9am–5pm at the Royal Society of Medicine. Join us for a broad range of patient advocates, clinical researchers, and healthcare professionals as they reflect on current barriers and potential improvements to LGBTIQ+ cancer patient experience and outcomes.
Due to a planned rail strike on the day of our conference, we will also be hosting a virtual livestream for those unable to attend in person.
Please share this invitation with anyone in your networks who may like to attend, whether in-person or virtually. However, we ask that you do not promote the Eventbrite link on social media due to rising anti-LGBTIQ+ attitudes on these platforms.
We love to hear from our Members about the great work they are doing and we can help get the word out by sharing it via our Newsletter and social media.
If you are a Member and you have a press release or announcement you'd like to share with us, then please get in touch by clicking on the button below.
