MEN in Leeds who identify as women can change their gender with just a phone call and need no medical or legal proof.

The new rules, which equally apply to women who identify as men, were brought in earlier this month amid a debate over people changing gender without a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).

1 Transgender residents in Leeds will have access to more 'speedy and considerate' services in a council first for the UK Credit: Rex Features

Residents will be able to log on to the city council's website or call customer services to inform officials of the change. This information will then be passed to all council departments to avoid people having to go through registering twice.

This change will make Leeds City Council the first local authority to launch a scheme that does not require people provide "proof" to register their gender, the Mail On Sunday reports.

In an email to councillors, chief executive Tom Riordan said: "This initiative has the full support and commitment of the Corporate Leadership Team as a means of helping our trans customers access our services in a speedier and more considerate way.

He added: "There is no general requirement in these circumstances for a customer to provide a gender recognition certificate."

This.... initiative is a means of helping our trans customers access our services in a speedier and more considerate way Leeds City Council Chief executive Tom Riordan

A GRC is a legal recognition of a person's gender and proof that the person has been living as that gender for at least two years.

But Mr Riordan, the youngest chief executive in the history of the council, said it could be that some documentation such as a deed poll, that proves a change of name, may be requested by some departments.

The standard route to apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate Applicants must: Be 18 or over Be diagnosed with gender dysphoria - discomfort with their birth gender Have lived in their acquired gender in the UK for at least two years Intend to live in their acquired gender permanently





Other routes apply to those who are married or in a legal partnership, or who have documents to prove their gender has been legally accepted in some other countries. Pay a £140 fee

Jo Churchill, member of the Women and Equalities committee, previously described the act of obtained a GRC as "protracted, bureaucratic, costly and humiliating".

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 was considered by many to be groundbreaking when it was introduced in 2004, but is often described by campaigners as so traumatic that many transgender people refuse to go through the process.

A petition to allow trans people to self-define their legal gender gained more than 35,000 signatures when it was submitted to Parliament in 2015.

The Government responded by upholding the "Gender Recognition Process", which is not compulsory but requires significant paperwork and states that the person must "intend to live in the acquired gender until death" if they want to be officially recognised in that gender.

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Non-binary gender is currently not recognised in UK law.

The Government said: "We are not aware that that results in any specific detriment, and it is not Government policy to identify such people for the purpose of issuing non-gender-specific official documents."

The Sun Online has approached Leeds City Council for a comment.

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