Cost of changing gender slashed

THE fee to apply for a gender recognition certificate is to be significantly cut to less than £10 from next month, according to reports.

Government sources have reportedly told the BBC that the £140 fee for how a person changes their legal gender will be reduced to single figures at around £5 - from May.

Equalities minister Liz Truss committed in September to making applying for a gender recognition certificate “kinder and more straightforward” and said that the fee would be reduced.

Under the existing Gender Recognition Act (GRA), a transgender person has to undergo a two-year waiting period, a review or appearance before a specialist panel as well as paying £140 before being able to change their gender legally.

Many LGBT+ campaigners believe the system is not fit for purpose and have called for it to be replaced with a simpler statutory declaration and self-identification.