James McMurdock

The Government published its draft Conversion Practices Bill on 25 June for pre-legislative scrutiny. The draft Bill sets robust thresholds to target clear instances of harmful and abusive acts. Officials have assessed a range of evidence and research to develop and deliver measures that comprehensively protect people from abusive conversion practices.

We welcome further cross-party engagement and scrutiny to ensure our proposed draft Bill is effective in the long-term.

The Government published its draft Conversion Practices Bill on 25 June for pre-legislative scrutiny. The draft Bill sets robust thresholds to target clear instances of harmful and abusive acts. Officials have assessed a range of evidence and research to develop and deliver measures that comprehensively protect people from abusive conversion practices.

We welcome further cross-party engagement and scrutiny to ensure our proposed draft Bill is effective in the long-term.

The Government published its draft Conversion Practices Bill on 25 June for pre-legislative scrutiny. The draft Bill sets robust thresholds to target clear instances of harmful and abusive acts. Officials have assessed a range of evidence and research to develop and deliver measures that comprehensively protect people from abusive conversion practices.

We welcome further cross-party engagement and scrutiny to ensure our proposed draft Bill is effective in the long-term.

The Government published its draft Conversion Practices Bill on 25 June for pre-legislative scrutiny. The draft Bill sets robust thresholds to target clear instances of harmful and abusive acts. Officials have assessed a range of evidence and research to develop and deliver measures that comprehensively protect people from abusive conversion practices.

We welcome further cross-party engagement and scrutiny to ensure our proposed draft Bill is effective in the long-term.

The Government published its draft Conversion Practices Bill on 25 June for pre-legislative scrutiny. The draft Bill sets robust thresholds to target clear instances of harmful and abusive acts. Officials have assessed a range of evidence and research to develop and deliver measures that comprehensively protect people from abusive conversion practices.

We welcome further cross-party engagement and scrutiny to ensure our proposed draft Bill is effective in the long-term.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity have 99% of their staff with office based contracts, with the remaining 1% with remote-working contracts (home-workers). We operate a ‘hybrid’ approach, led by business needs, and as a result many employees will work both from home and in the workplace on an informal basis.

The earliest the regulated period for local election candidates can begin is the day following the last day for publication of the notice of poll.

For deferred elections, this will be in March of the year the election is deferred to. There are no ongoing campaign spending restrictions on candidates before this date.

Relevant guidance is available on the Electoral Commission’s website.

The spending limit for a candidate in a combined authority mayoral election, such as the Greater Essex mayoral election in 2028, is not a fixed sum but depends on the number of constituent councils and registered electors at the time of the election.

The formula for a candidate's spending limit during the regulated period is set out in legislation. Currently, this is:

• £3,040 multiplied by the total number of constituent councils, plus
• 8p for every elector registered to vote in the combined authority area.

The Combined Authority Returning Officer will be able to provide the number of constituent councils and registered electors to calculate the spending limit. Relevant guidance is available on the Electoral Commission’s website.

I refer the hon member to the answer given to question 54052 which can be found here

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-05-06/50452

The Supreme Court’s ruling has brought clarity and confidence for women and single-sex services providers. The Government will work closely with the EHRC as they develop definitive guidance. All government departments should follow the clarity the ruling provides.

All medical reports submitted to the Gender Recognition Panel must be supplied by a doctor or a registered psychologist, registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) or the Health and Care Professions Council. The doctor must be both registered with the GMC and also hold a licence to practise. All medical evidence is reviewed by members of the Gender Recognition Panel to ensure its validity.

Each application for a Gender Recognition Certificate is considered on its own merits by the Gender Recognition Panel, informed by the evidence.

It is vitally important that service providers understand the single-sex service exceptions in the Equality Act 2010 and feel confident using them. The Government has committed to ensuring that there is guidance in place which gives service providers assurance about the rights afforded by the Act and how to lawfully apply its single-sex exceptions. We will set out next steps on this work in due course.

The Cabinet Office has launched a programme of work to simplify the state, removing unnecessary bureaucracy and speeding up the timeline from ministerial decision to delivery for citizens, including through the process for collective agreement of government policy.

Equalities Impact Assessments are carried out for a variety of reasons, for both internal policies and processes within the Cabinet Office under Public Sector Equality Duty to assess the impact of external policies and processes. Although there is a small central team who provide advice and guidance, it is the responsibility of individual business units to assess whether a formal assessment is required, and if so, these are typically conducted locally by the teams themselves.

There is currently no requirement for teams to report activity, and we do not hold a central record across the department. It is therefore not possible to provide an accurate estimate of the number of assessments conducted. Given Equalities Impact Assessments are conducted internally, there are no direct costs associated, however the amount of official time taken to carry out the activity would be relevant. It is similarly not possible to provide an accurate estimate of time taken, as this varies significantly based on the scale and complexity of the policy or process being developed.

The new policy referenced will ensure it is far clearer when an assessment is required, and what parameters need to be followed, with the intention of reducing the amount of official time spent on this activity, whilst still providing robust challenge.

We have developed an AI tool to help identify uncover consultation requirements hidden within legislation. It is up to ministerial and Parliamentary discretion to decide their value to specific legislation and the policies underlying that legislation. This initiative will ensure that government policies can be implemented as efficiently as possible, streamlining the process while retaining necessary checks and balances where appropriate. We are introducing a higher bar inclusion of consultation requirements in legislation, and prioritising finding more effective and efficient ways to engage stakeholders. The end goal is ending the introduction of further unnecessary reporting and consultation requirements.

Consultation should only be used when it is the most effective tool for good policymaking and not used for other reasons. Reporting requirements should not disproportionately slow down delivery.

AI tools are being used to identify statutory requirements to consult. Decisions remain the purview of Ministers.

AI tools are being used to identify statutory requirements to consult. Decisions remain the purview of ministers.

The government is committed to protecting the necessary checks and balances to ministerial and Parliamentary decision making. In line with standard processes, Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise and challenge any changes to consultation requirements where they are legislative.

We are using state-of-the-art large language models to identify all duties to consult within the statute book, as well as contextual information such as responsible department and the circumstances under which consultation is required.

The government is committed to identifying existing disproportionate reporting and consultation duties that are slowing down delivery. This process is still ongoing.

All 131 consultation requirements were from existing primary legislation, not bills currently before Parliament or Secondary legislation. The government is committed to identifying existing disproportionate reporting and consultation duties that are slowing down delivery.

The government is committed to identifying existing disproportionate reporting and consultation duties that are slowing down delivery. The policy analysis is in the early stages and all options are being considered.

Policy analysis is currently ongoing to develop recommendations to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy. We have already identified initial targeted first steps, but this is a significant piece of work requiring ministerial decisions across a range of policy areas. We are developing our plan of work and raising our ambition. Once this has been agreed, we will be in a position to develop quantifiable metrics in terms of resource savings to the public purse.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

The People’s Panel will convene throughout May and June to hear expert evidence, concluding their work on 21 June 2026. Outputs from the People’s Panel will be weighed alongside the broader consultation feedback to inform the design and delivery of the voluntary digital ID system.

As announced in parliament on 10 March 2026, the People’s Panel will form part of the legal consultation on digital ID. The Government will respond to the Consultation in the usual way.

The People’s Panel will be facilitated by our suppliers, Ipsos UK. Ipsos have a trained team of skilled facilitators who will guide discussions and ensure all members of the People’s Panel have equal opportunities to contribute.

Yes, the People’s Panel will consist of a single group of 100 to 120 individuals, selected via civic lottery to ensure a representative sample of the public.

As per my response to PQ 119980, the People’s Panel is being delivered in partnership with Ipsos UK.

I refer to my response to PQ 120742.

The People’s Panel will debate how a digital ID can work for everyone. As part of this process, participants will engage with what a digital ID might look like to meet the guiding principles of trusted, useful and inclusive.