Ministers have been accused of using next month’s elections as an excuse for their failure to publish long-awaited guidance on single-sex services.

Bridget Phillipson claimed she cannot release the equality watchdog’s code of practice yet because Government announcements are restricted during the ‘purdah’ period before polls for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments on May 7th.

It means the vital document, which much of the public sector has said it is waiting for before updating its policies on which facilities such as toilets and changing rooms should be used by transgender people, will not be released until more than a year after the landmark Supreme Court ruling that was meant to protect women’s rights.

Ahead of the first anniversary of the judgment on Thursday, the Education Secretary said: ‘We are taking urgent action to meet our intention of laying the Code in May and as soon as practicable after the election period, for Parliamentary scrutiny.’

And she insisted: ‘This government has always supported the protection of single-sex spaces based on biological sex.

‘The Supreme Court’s ruling last year brought clarity for women and service providers such as hospitals and refuges, and made clear that protections for trans people remain in the Equality Act.’

Ms Phillipson told Parliament in a written statement on Tuesday that the Government had only received an updated draft of the rules from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on Monday after ‘engagement and further legal analysis’.

But campaigners pointed out she had been sitting on the draft rules since receiving them last September, and had only recently asked the watchdog to make some changes.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson leaving the weekly Cabinet meeting in Downing Street last month

Maya Forstater, Chief Executive of sex-based rights charity Sex Matters, said: ‘It’s extraordinary that a year after the Supreme Court judgement, and seven months after the independent regulator first submitted its code of practice, the government has found another excuse for delaying the guidance.

‘When the Minister for Women and Equalities received the updated code of practice from the EHRC in September she had only two options: lay the guidance before Parliament or give the EHRC written reasons why she was not going to approve the code.

‘Now we hear that there have been negotiations and horse-trading between the government and the EHRC on the content of the code.’

She went on: ‘The past year’s delay has caused serious harm to countless women. The statement that the government has ‘always supported the protection of single-sex spaces based on biological sex’ is a slap in the face to these women and girls who have faced harassment and hounding from jobs and services for saying the same thing.

‘Delaying laying the guidance till after the local council and devolved administration elections is not a good excuse.’

EHRC Chairman Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson said: ‘Progress is being made towards accurate and up-to-date guidance on the Equality Act 2010 being available to service providers, associations and those exercising public functions.

‘The UK government recently provided us with a narrow set of comments on the draft Code of Practice we submitted in September. Having considered this feedback alongside consultation responses and further legal analysis, we have made adjustments where they help the Code provide legally accurate, practical guidance that is useful to duty bearers.

‘These aim to strengthen duty bearers’ understanding of the law and how it applies across a range of the scenarios they encounter day-to-day. So that all service users are treated with dignity and respect, in line with the Equality Act.

‘Our amended draft services Code of Practice has now been sent for the Secretary of State to approve in advance of it being laid in Parliament.’

The Times reported that Ms Phillipson had told the EHRC to make the code more inclusive before it could be published.

But sources close to her said: ‘We completely refute the idea that we asked to tone it down.’ 

Shadow Equalities Minister Claire Coutinho said: ‘This is a disgrace. Women deserve to know that their rights and safety come first. 

‘With a leadership election looming, it is increasingly clear that Bridget Phillipson is putting her own political ambition ahead of protecting women. 

‘She must publish the EHRC guidance now rather than hiding behind the local elections as an excuse for more dither and delay.’