Julie Minns
Main Page: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)Department Debates - View all Julie Minns's debates with the Cabinet Office
(1 month, 1 week ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Catherine Atkinson
The hon. Member is right that we need to not just pursue perpetrators and provide support to victims, but prevent violence against women and girls. That is why this is a cross-Government strategy. No one Department can tackle this alone. The Department for Education is piloting programmes with young people in schools. We need to ensure that all Departments are doing their bit—and they are.
Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)
The Minister for Equalities (Olivia Bailey)
Conversion practices are an abhorrent and insidious form of abuse, perpetrated by people who believe that being LGBT is not only wrong but can be forcibly changed. This Government will ban that abuse.
Ms Minns
The work of Cumbria Pride and Pride in North Cumbria in supporting people to feel accepted and confident in their sexuality stands in stark contrast to those who peddle cruel and abusive conversion practices. The last Conservative Government failed multiple times to introduce a ban on these practices. Will the Minister please confirm that this Government will legislate, and will she set out the steps that the Government are taking to do this?
Olivia Bailey
I thank Pride in North Cumbria and Cumbria Pride for their brilliant work. My hon. Friend is right to say that Pride events are a wonderful asset to the community. Given recent decisions to defund Pride events, this is a lesson that Reform councils clearly need to learn. I can confirm that this Labour Government will ban abusive conversion practices, and we will be publishing our draft Bill very soon.