What do the new laws cover?

The legislation outlaws discrimination in a range of important areas, from hospitals to schools in the public sector and B&Bs to banking in the private sector.

All organisations in the public sector are covered by the legislation. Gay people pay taxes like everyone else, so service providers such as hospitals, GPs and schools are obliged to treat everyone equally. The London GP who refused to treat a man because he was gay will now be breaking the law.

The same goes for the private sector. It's now illegal for businesses including banks, estate agents, hotels and bars to turn away gay customers or discriminate against them when providing goods or services.

Download the Stonewall Guide at http://www.stonewall.org.uk/documents/the_colour_of_your_money_final.pdf

Here are some of the key areas where the laws will make a difference…

Education

The new legislation will make a huge difference in schools, lending support to Stonewall's Education for All campaign to tackle homophobic bullying. If a school fails to take anti-gay bullying seriously, they could be breaking the law. If a school refuses a place to someone because they might be gay, or because their parents are, that's covered too. So are things like the chance to be a prefect or participate in school trips.

Healthcare

GPs can no longer turn you way for being gay - some did before - or refuse lesbian and gay people treatments they would offer to anyone else.

Hotels

Hotels and B&Bs can no longer refuse double rooms to same-sex couples. If you want a double bed, you can have one.

Council services

Until now, some councils have refused to recognise homophobic bullying as a good reason to re-house a person (or evict their neighbours). Now they have to act.

Restaurants

Stonewall has heard from couples who were refused tables together, or were asked to leave simply for holding hands. Now gay couples don't have to tolerate being treated any differently to anyone else.

Housing

If a flat or house is for sale or rent, the owner or landlord can't turn you down just because you're gay. They have before.

What about gay businesses?

Gay businesses have nothing to fear from the new laws. Gay people take straight friends to gay venues all the time and these new laws won't change that. Gay businesses, like any other, can still ask someone making a nuisance of themselves to leave.

Gay social and support groups

Many groups across Britain offer vital social and support services to gay people. These groups will continue to operate as they always have done - it's recognised that they allow lesbian and gay people to meet up in a safe and supportive environment. Health services aimed towards lesbians or gay men can also continue. It's found that treatment can be more effective and more likely to be taken up when offered in a 'targeted' environment. We're aware of the benefits this could have for Stonewall's current work on LGB health needs.

Religious organisations

There've been demands over the last couple of years for religious organisations to be exempted from the regulations. Stonewall's view, that we've repeatedly emphasised to politicians, has always been that any organisation in receipt of funding or subsidy from the public purse should not be able to discriminate. Religious groups providing publicly-funded welfare services to the community, like meals on wheels or drug rehabilitation have no more right to discriminate than anyone else. Religious services like weddings or baptisms won't be covered by the laws.

Adoption agencies

Religious adoption agencies have been given until Christmas 2008 to adapt their services. We trust that given this transitional period, no agency will need to close. The leader of the Catholic church in England and Wales, Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, had publicly threatened to close Catholic adoption agencies unless the Government exempted them from the goods and services regulations, allowing them to turn lesbian and gay couples away. Stonewall fought hard to ensure the welfare of the child came before religious opinions.

What do I do if I'm discriminated against?

Inevitably, even now the laws are in place there will be some cases of discrimination. Not every incident will result in court proceedings - if you think you've been discriminated against because of your sexual orientation, it's a good idea to try to resolve the matter informally with the organisation in question. You might consider contacting their head office or writing to the relevant umbrella body, for example Visit Britain in the case of a hotel.

If you're unable to resolve the matter informally, you could pursue a case in the county court in England and Wales or the sheriff court in Scotland. Where discrimination is found to have taken place, the court can award financial compensation.