The Joint Committee scrutinising the government’s draft Conversion Practices Bill has officially launched its call for written evidence. This is a crucial opportunity for LGBTQ+ victims and survivors, advocates, frontline workers, and allies to help shape legislation that provides robust protections against conversion practices in the UK.

The deadline for written submissions is Monday, 16th November 2026 at 5:00 pm.

Parliamentary committees rely heavily on written submissions from individuals and organisations with lived or professional experience. Whether you are an LGBTQ+ person with personal experience of conversion practices, a healthcare professional, social worker, youth worker, legal expert, or an organisation supporting victims and survivors, your insights can help the Committee understand why this piece of legislation is so essential.

What is the Committee Investigating?

The Joint Committee is examining the draft bill in detail. Key areas the committee is seeking views on include:

• Government Aims: Whether the draft bill effectively reflects the government’s stated objectives for the legislation.
• Legislative Gaps: To what extent the draft bill addresses harms that are not adequately covered by existing criminal law.
• Clarity & Thresholds: Whether the legal concepts, definitions, and thresholds for criminal liability are clear and appropriate.
• Protection Orders: Views on the proposed conversion practice protection orders.
• Rights & Balance: How well the bill strikes the right balance regarding privacy, family life, freedom of expression, and freedom of belief.
• Healthcare: Whether the proposed exemptions for healthcare providers are appropriate and suggestions for alternatives.

What should you include in your submission?

When preparing your written evidence, it is most effective to address the committee’s questions directly (you do not need to answer all of them, but you should clearly state which questions your submission covers).

Consider highlighting:

• Lived Experience: Real-world experiences that illustrate the harms of conversion practices and why specialist legal protection is necessary.
• Professional Perspective: Insights from your work as a clinician, therapist, social worker, lawyer, or youth worker dealing with the impacts of abuse.
• Community Impact: How conversion practices affect LGBT+ individuals within families, communities, and support networks.

Practical submission guidelines

To ensure your evidence is reviewed effectively by the committee, please keep the following technical requirements in mind:

• Length: Keep your submission clear and concise. Submissions should generally be no more than 3,000 words. If your submission exceeds 3,000 words, it must include a brief summary.
• Formatting: Structure your evidence using numbered paragraphs and helpful headings.
• File Format: Submit as a single Word (.docx), ODT, or RTF document under 25MB. Avoid repeated headers/footers and decorative images or logos.
• Plain English: Write clearly and accessibly.

If you use generative AI tools to help you write your submission, you must state so and ensure the final text fully reflects your own thoughts and experiences.

What Happens to Your Evidence?

Once submitted, the committee will review your evidence to decide whether to accept it.

• Publication: If accepted, the evidence becomes the property of the committee and is typically published online permanently. It may also be quoted in the committee’s final report.
• Anonymity and Confidentiality: You can request that your evidence be published without your name (anonymously) or ask for it to be kept confidential.
• Do Not Pre-Publish: You must not publish your evidence elsewhere before the committee formally decides to publish it or grants you permission to do so.

Ask your MP to support a ban on conversion practices

Another action you can take to make clear that the UK Government needs to ban conversion practices is by writing to your MP. Ask them to keep the promises made in party manifestos to protect LGBTQ+ people. They must ensure the safe progress of the bill and the delivery of a strong ban that protects everyone. Write to your MP now.

For more detailed guidance on submitting evidence to parliamentary committees, visit the official UK Parliament guidance pages.

If you or someone you know has been affected by conversion practices, the National Conversion Therapy Helpline is here to support you. You can reach us at 0800 999 5428 or via email at help@galop.org.uk.