Written questions by Gill.

Whether her Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.

A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team. A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. This was supplemented by a programme of engagement activity, including with representatives of all government departments represented in the Government Statistical Service. The ONS have committed to providing an initial response to the public consultation in April, and a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026 will include more detailed information on the departments that responded to the consultation.

Whether his Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide evidence or input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard; and what evidence it submitted, including in relation to the recording of Sikhs and Jewish people as ethnic groups.

The Department was invited by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) to provide evidence. The Department has not responded, deferring to NHS England, who are leading work on the Unified Information Standard for Protected Characteristics (UIPSC). The UISPC programme is a wide-ranging review of how the National Health Service records data in relation to protected characteristics, workforce/employment, and patient datasets and associated surveys. NHS England has been fully engaged with the work on the ethnicity harmonised standard throughout the development of the UISPC. The ONS sit on the UISPC Publication Steering Group, which was established to bring together key representatives from NHS system partners and cross Government agencies.NHS England reviewed the consultations from the ONS on the 2031 Census and the Government Statistical Service on the harmonised standard on ethnicity. It has been agreed that once the UISPC report recommendations are made to the Department, ministers will review and consider next steps, including how best to consult more widely.

Whether her Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide evidence or input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.

The Department for Transport was invited by the Office for National Statistics, via the Government Statistical Service harmonisation champions network, to respond to a consultation regarding possible changes to the standard for ethnicity categories.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide evidence or input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard; and what evidence it submitted, including in relation to the recording of Sikhs and Jewish people as ethnic groups.

A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team. A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. This was supplemented by a programme of engagement activity, including with representatives of all government departments. ONS have committed to providing an initial response to the public consultation in April, and a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026 will include more detailed information on the departments that responded to the consultation.

Media and Sport, whether her Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide evidence or input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.

A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team. A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. This was supplemented by a programme of engagement activity, including with representatives of all government departments. The ONS has committed to providing an initial response to the public consultation in April, and a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026 will include more detailed information on the departments that responded to the consultation.

Whether his Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide evidence or input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.

A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team. A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. This was supplemented by a programme of engagement, including with representatives of all government departments. ONS have committed to providing an initial response to the public consultation in April, and a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026 will include more detailed information on the departments that responded to the consultation.

Whether her Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide evidence or input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.

A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team.A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. This was supplemented by a programme of engagement activity, including with representatives of all government departments.ONS have committed to providing an initial response to the public consultation in April, and a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026 will include more detailed information on the departments that responded to the consultation.

Whether his Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide evidence or input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.

A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team. A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. This was supplemented by a programme of engagement activity, including with representatives of all Government Departments. The Office for National Statistics have committed to providing an initial response to the public consultation in April, and a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026 will include more detailed information on the departments that responded to the consultation.

Whether his Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide evidence or input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.

A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team. A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. This was supplemented by a programme of engagement activity, including with representatives of all government departments. ONS have committed to an initial response to the public consultation in April, and a full report in late summer 2026.

Whether the Office for National Statistics sought input from Government departments as part of its review of harmonised standards on ethnicity classification.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 3rd March is attached.

Whether his Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.

A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team. A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. This was supplemented by a programme of engagement activity, including with representatives of all government departments. ONS have committed to providing an initial response to the public consultation in April, and a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026 will include more detailed information on the departments that responded to the consultation.

Whether her Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide evidence or input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard; and what evidence it submitted, including in relation to the recording of Sikhs and Jewish people as ethnic groups.

The Home Office was invited by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to input to the consultation on the ethnicity harmonised standard. Any changes recommended to the ethnicity harmonisations standard will be applied to our departmental statistics, where applicable, in due course.It was an open consultation, so anyone could provide a response on an individual basis. The Home Office gathered views from across the department and provided an organisational response.ONS committed to publish all responses to the consultation, with the names of organisations to be included alongside their response. In line with government consultation principles, a response should be published within 12 weeks of the consultation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was made aware of the Government Statistical Service's public consultation on the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection in the UK. The FCDO did not submit a response given the domestic focus of the consultation.

Whether his Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.

The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. All staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment for other Government departments, who remain the employers.As information relating to the demographics of staff is held by the employing departments, the Scotland Office is not able to provide evidence into the review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide evidence or input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.

A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team. A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. This was supplemented by a programme of engagement activity, including with representatives of all government departments. ONS have committed to providing an initial response to the public consultation in April, and a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026 will include more detailed information on the departments that responded to the consultation.

Pursuant to the Sullivan Review’s recommendation that data on biological sex should be collected as the default and distinct from gender identity, what formal guidance and harmonised data standards the UK Statistics Authority and Office for National Statistics will issue for all public bodies and Government departments; and by when these standards will be published and mandated.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 25th February is attached.

How the ONS will ensure that the design of questions in major surveys and censuses, including ONS surveys, departmental surveys and Census outputs, conform with the Sullivan Review recommendation that “sex should be the default target of any sex question,” and that sex and gender identity are not conflated in a single question.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 25th February is attached.

Whether the Office for National Statistics has a timetable to implement the Sullivan Review’s recommendation that biological sex is collected as a distinct data variable in all Government statistical outputs.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 25th February is attached.

What steps he is taking to ensure that administrative datasets, including health, justice, education and crime datasets, will collect data on biological sex.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 25th February is attached.

What steps his Department is taking to implement the recommendation in the Cass Review to undertake a comprehensive tracing and long-term follow-up study of the approximately 9,000 children and young people who were seen by the Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.

The Government and NHS England have made a clear commitment to implement all the recommendations in the Cass Review’s final report, and this includes the data linkage study.The data linkage study remains an important commitment within the wider national research programme underpinning the design and delivery of the new model of National Health Service care in place in England for children and young people with gender incongruence / dysphoria. The study is observational in nature, linking and analysing existing, routinely collected healthcare data for adults who, as children, were referred into the former Gender Identity Development Service, previously operated by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.The data linkage study design will enable consideration of any associations observed within currently available data, rather than providing direct evidence on the cause and effect of any individual treatment approach. Nonetheless the study aims to provide valuable additional insights into the characteristics, healthcare experience and intermediate outcomes of this previous cohort of children and young people accessing NHS gender care, and to inform future gender care.The Department has continued to regularly engage with and support NHS England, which has taken on responsibility for study delivery. Since taking over responsibility for delivering the data linkage study, NHS England has taken time to undertake further due diligence on the data sources that will underpin the study, and to re-engage with data-sharing organisations, on which the study will be dependent. This has led to small but important proposed improvements in study design, subject to the approval of the Health Research Authority (HRA), that both respond positively to stakeholder feedback and that will better facilitate the collaboration of study data sharing partners. This will include carefully monitoring and considering whether any further steps may be required to ensure timely progress on data collaboration.These improvements also include a more appropriately confined data ask of adult gender clinics, planned phasing so that initial linkages can be completed against national data sets already available to NHS England, before additional adult clinic data becomes available from study partners, and the option for individuals in the study cohort to register via a single, more simply accessed study specific data opt-out which can remain open up until just before the study analysis is finalised.Important final steps are currently being taken to enable the study to begin. On 26 February, an updated order was laid in both Houses of Parliament to facilitate delivery of the data linkage study. The order will provide appropriate legal protections for those individuals and organisations who will be sharing or processing data potentially subject to the specific protections of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, for the purpose of the study. The order is expected to come in to force on 20 March 2026. Final HRA study approval will also need to be in place before the study can begin.