49.—(1) Paragraph (2) applies where—
(a)an application under section 1(1) or 4A(1) of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (“the Act”) has been received by a Gender Recognition Panel before 13th January 2020,
(b)the Panel has not, before that date, granted or rejected the application, and
(c)it appears to the Panel that the outcome of the application may be different if the application were dealt with in accordance with the Act as amended by this Part.
(2) The Panel must—
(a)inform the applicant of the difference of outcome that appears possible,
(b)ask the applicant if the applicant wishes for the application to be dealt with in accordance with the Act as amended by this Part, and
(c)give the applicant a reasonable opportunity to provide any further information that would be required for the application to be so dealt with.
(3) If the applicant—
(a)expresses a wish for the application to be dealt with in accordance with the Act as amended by this Part, and
(b)duly provides any information required under paragraph (2)(c),
the Panel must deal with the application in accordance with the Act as amended by this Part.
(4) If paragraph (3) does not apply, the Panel must continue to deal with the application in accordance with the Act as it would have effect without the amendments made by this Part.
Section 4A was inserted by Part 1 of Schedule 5 to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.