Labour blames EHRC for months-long delay of single-sex space guidance

However, the Education Secretary is now demanding the equalities regulator calculates how much it will cost businesses before it is published.

She argued the Government "did require certain additional information" from the EHRC which had "unfortunately slowed the process."

Ms Phillipson admitted there had been "difficulties in the past" with the equalities watchdog, but expressed faith in its new chair, Mary-Ann Stephenson.

She told reporters: "We did require certain additional information from the EHRC, so that has unfortunately slowed the process, but I hope we can make progress, because I know that people want that clarity, but actually the ruling from the Supreme Court was also very clear.

"We have a new chair that has taken up post at the EHRC. I think she is going to do a fantastic job, and I have every confidence in her. We have experienced difficulties in the past. I’ll be up front about that.

"I hope now we can move into a phase where we can crack on, we can make sure that we’re putting in place the code of practice that we know we need to bring forward, but we do so in a way that is responsible, that follows all of the proper processes."

The draft update was made in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling in April that the terms "woman" and "sex" in the 2010 Equality Act "refer to a biological woman and biological sex."

The guidance requires ministerial approval and would only come into force 40 days after the Government had laid the draft code in Parliament.

Last month, in an interview with the Press Association, the EHRC’s new chairwoman, Mary-Ann Stephenson, said the commission had, under her predecessor Baroness Falkner, given "legally sound" guidance to the Government and were awaiting ministers’ response.

Baroness Falkner wrote to the Government while still in post in October, urging them to "act at speed" on bringing the guidance into force, but ministers have repeatedly said they will not be rushed on a sensitive issue.

A final draft seen by The Times indicates that venues including hospital wards, gyms and leisure centres would be permitted to challenge transgender women about their use of single-sex facilities based on their appearance, behaviour or concerns from other users.

The document stated that where transgender individuals are turned away, organisations should explore whether suitable alternatives exist.

It also emphasised that denying transgender people access to essential services such as toilets would not be proportionate.

The leaked draft suggesting transgender people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on the way they look.

Trans rights campaigners criticised the reported draft as "a licence to discriminate based on looks, plain and simple."

Asked in an interview last month if she accepted such a characterisation, Ms Stephenson said: “No, I don’t.

"I think my starting point in all of this is that you have to ensure that everyone, as far as possible, has access to the services they need."

Ms Stephenson added that she believes in the importance of protecting the rights of all, including trans people, in the debate around single-sex spaces.