Petition Make all forms of LGBT Conversion Therapy Practices illegal in 2021

The Chair of the Liaison Committee, which brings together the Chairs of every House of Commons Committee, including the Petitions Committee, has written to the Government to urge them to bring forward legislation to ban the practice of conversion therapy.

The Petitions Committee asked for this legislation to be requested, following the petitions it has continued to receive on this issue and the repeated commitments made by the Government in response.

The Chair of the Liaison Committee said:

“The Government’s programme has been understandably impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. But now that this is closer to being under control, we would urge the Government to deliver on its commitments to and demands from select committees on other vitally important legislation which committees are keen to see brought forward.”

Find out more and read the letter: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/103/liaison-committee-commons/news/139371/government-urged-to-deliver-on-its-commitments-for-queens-speech/

Further information

The current 'Parliamentary session' is expected to finish around May this year. At the start of the new session the Government will announce its plans for introducing new laws and policies over the next year.

What is the Liaison Committee?

The Liaison Committee is a group of MPs who Chair other House of Commons Select Committees, including the Chair of the Petitions Committee.

Find out more about the Liaison Committee: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/103/liaison-committee-commons/

Find out how Select Committees work: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c 

On Tuesday 11 May, the Government announced its plans to ban LGBT 'conversion therapy', as part of the Queen's Speech. The Government's plans are intended to introduce laws which will protect people from being subjected to the practice.

The Government has also announced the creation of a support fund for LGBT people impacted by 'conversion therapy'.

Read more about the Government's plans here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-out-plan-to-ban-conversion-therapy

Read the Queen's Speech background briefing notes for more information on the Government's proposed Bills: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/queens-speech-2021-background-briefing-notes

What is the Queen's Speech?

The Queen's Speech is the speech that the Queen reads out in the House of Lords Chamber on the occasion of the State Opening of Parliament.

It's written by the Government and sets out the programme of Bills - new laws, and changes to existing laws - that the Government intends to put forward in this new Parliamentary session. A session of Parliament usually lasts around one year.

Once the Government puts forward a Bill in Parliament, Parliament then debates the Government's proposal and decides whether to adopt the changes to the law set out in the Bill.

The Government has launched a public call for evidence to help the development of legislation for banning the practice of so-called conversion therapy, which particularly affect LGBT people.

Read a summary of the proposals, and share your views:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/banning-conversion-therapy

The call for evidence is open until 10 December 2021.

Proposals to ban conversion therapy

The Government announced its plans to ban LGBT conversion therapy as part of the Queen's speech in May 2021 and has now launched a consultation to seek views on a number of proposed measures that will apply to England and Wales, which include:

• a ban on conversion therapy – introducing a new criminal offence alongside sentence uplifts for existing offences

• a package of support for victims, restricting promotion of conversion therapies, removing profit streams, and strengthening the case for disqualification from holding a senior role in a charity

• introducing Conversion Therapy Protection Orders to protect potential victims from undergoing the practice including overseas

• exploring further measures to prevent the promotion and advertisement of conversion therapy

The Government has said responses to the consultation will inform the policy proposals and the draft legislation which is expected by spring 2022.

Who is running the consultation?

The consultation is being run by the Government Equalities Office (GEO), the Government office that leads work on policy relating to women, sexual orientation and transgender equality.

Find out more about the GEO:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-equalities-office

Petitions debate on conversion therapy

The Petitions Committee scheduled a debate on the topic of LGBT conversion therapy, which took place in Parliament on 8 March 2021

Watch the debate here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl38dzzn1wc

Read the transcript here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-03-08/debates/552D6176-C4D5-47F1-A8C1-C900B58AEB7C/LGBTConversionTherapy

You can find out more about this debate and conversion therapy in the House of Commons Library briefing produced for this debate: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2021-0030/

The House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee is holding two focussed sessions on conversion therapy, and will be looking at the Government's proposals to ban these practices, which are currently under public consultation.

The Committee will hold the first of two evidence sessions on the subject on Wednesday 24 November, where it will hear from two panels of witnesses, exploring different concerns about the Government’s proposals.

Watch the session from 2.30pm: https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/6b3fe0a8-92ca-4b54-ab2a-8e2831daab06

Topics to be discussed at the session will include:

• what a definition of conversion therapy should look like

• the issue of informed consent

• religious freedoms

• parental responsibilities.

You can read more about the session here: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1620/the-governments-consultation-on-conversion-therapy/news/159002/mps-hold-evidence-session-on-conversion-therapy/

The Committee will hold a second evidence session on Tuesday 30 November, with a Government Minister. Updates about these sessions will be posted here: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1620/the-governments-consultation-on-conversion-therapy/

The Government's consultation on banning conversion therapy

The Government is currently consulting on proposals to ban conversion therapy, and support victims of these practices. You can read a summary of the proposals, and share your views here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/banning-conversion-therapy

The consultation will close on 10 December 2021.

What is the Women and Equalities Committee?

The Women and Equalities Committee examines the work of the Government Equalities Office (GEO). It holds Government to account on equality law and policy, including the Equality Act 2010 and cross Government activity on equalities. It also scrutinises the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Find out more on their website: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/328/women-and-equalities-committee/

You can get updates on their work by following the Committee on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Commonswomequ

This is a ‘select committee’. Find out how Select Committees work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c

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