Scottish Government position and meetings on banning conversion therapy: FOI release

Information requested

1. What is the Scottish Government’s current position on banning conversion therapy in Scotland?

2. What engagement has the Scottish Government had with the UK Government, since July 2024, on a potential ban on conversion therapy?

Response

The answer to your first question is that the Scottish Government’s position on banning conversion practices in Scotland remains as set out in the 2024/25 Programme for Government. We are committed to progressing our commitment to ending conversion practices in Scotland and working towards complementary approaches across the UK. We are continuing to prepare legislation for introduction to the Scottish Parliament should a UK-wide approach not be achievable.

The answer to your second question is that ministers/officials of the Scottish Government have met with ministers/officials of the UK Government on seven occasions since July 2024. These meetings consisted of a mixture of virtual and in-person meeting. On top of this, two letters have been exchanged at Ministerial level and email correspondence has been ongoing at official level.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.