Question
To ask the Leader of the House, pursuant to the Written Statement of 23 May 2022, Official Report, HCWS47, on Review of legislative drafting, whether the Guide to Gender-Neutral Drafting published in 2019 by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and the Government Legal Department has been withdrawn.
Answer
The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel will publish its revised drafting guidance on GOV.UK in due course, and a copy will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses. This guidance will reflect the Government’s position as set out in the Written Statement of 23 May 2022, Official Report, HCWS47.
The 2019 Guide to Gender-Neutral Drafting is not a Government publication. It was produced for an external seminar, and although based on guidance of the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, it was not published by them. Stonewall was not consulted in relation to either publication.