Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will set out a timeline for the Online Safety Bill; and whether that timeline will allow for the outcomes of the Government’s public consultation on banning conversion therapy practices to inform the Bill.

Pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill by Parliament is underway, and we expect the Joint Committee to report with their recommendations by 10 December.

The Bill remains a priority for DCMS and the Home Office, and we will introduce the Bill as soon as possible after we have considered the recommendations made by the Joint Committee.

The conversion therapy consultation is open until 10 December. The government will then publish its response to the consultation in the new year. Legislation to ban conversion therapy is being prepared for Spring 2022.

The government is considering how best to tackle the promotion of conversion therapy online through the Online Safety Bill and associated work.