Equality Network calls for improvements to Westminster conversion practices bill

We have responded to a call for evidence from a UK Parliament Joint Committee, which is currently scrutinising the UK government’s draft conversion practices bill. 

The draft bill, published in June, is currently in a process known as pre-legislative scrutiny. This period, which normally lasts for several months, allows organisations and individuals to feed back on the proposals in a number of ways, including through written submissions and oral evidence hearings. The committee will consider this evidence and then make recommendations to the UK government. Changes may be made before a final draft bill is introduced to Westminster for MPs and Lords to consider and eventually vote on.  

In our submission, we highlighted our concerns about the draft in its current form and called on the committee to make a number of recommendations that we believe would strengthen the final bill.  

While the bill is only proposed to cover England and Wales, we felt it important to respond to the call for evidence as we want the best possible protections for LGBTQIA+ people in all parts of the UK. In its Programme for Government, the Scottish Government also indicated that it is working in partnership with the UK Government to explore whether the Bill may extend to Scotland. While we would strongly prefer for Holyrood to pass its own legislation, we still believe it is important to engage in this period of scrutiny.  

Parliamentary committees welcome written submissions from everyone, so if you think you have insight or experience the committee would benefit from hearing, you can respond via the UK Parliament’s website. The deadline for submissions is 5pm on Monday 16 November.   

It will take some time before the committee makes any recommendations, and even longer still until we have an indication of what the final bill might look like. We will continue to work with our partners in the Ban Conversion Practices coalition to strengthen proposals at Westminster, while calling on the Scottish Government to introduce its own legislation in Holyrood.

You can support our campaign to end conversion practices by signing up to our mailing list or making a donation. Together, we will end these abhorrent practices for good.   

Read more: Why are we waiting: The Case for a Scottish Conversion Practices Bill