Thank you for contacting me about conversion therapy.

I take this issue very seriously and I know that my colleagues in the Equalities Office remain committed to tackling conversion therapy in the UK. I am absolutely clear that this practice has no place in a civilised society. I very much welcome that the Government is proceeding with its legislative proposals to ban conversion therapy for lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals.

Alongside this, I have been assured that the Government is carrying out separate work on the issue of transgender conversion therapy, this is to ensure that any legislative measures brought forward will not have any unintended consequences. I understand that this is a legally complex area, and as such the Government have a responsibility that any of these unintended consequences are not written into legislation, particularly in the case of under-eighteens. I am positive about the steps that have been made so far in the UK to achieve LGBT equality and am confident that this good work will continue.

Thank you for contacting me.