Equality watchdog responds to King's Speech

A spokesperson for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said:

“Today’s King’s Speech included both positive developments, and disappointing omissions, for equality and human rights in Britain.

“We are particularly disappointed to see that anticipated legislation to ban harmful conversion practices and the draft Mental Health Bill were not included. Both bills have been supported by the EHRC, and would provide vital protections for people with the protected characteristics of sexual orientation, gender reassignment and disability, respectively. We will continue to stand ready to provide expert advice to the government on matters relating to these bills.

“With the implementation of the Illegal Migration Bill, we will continue to highlight the importance of the UK upholding its international legal obligations to protect human rights, which we raised concerns over earlier this year.

“However, we do welcome the Autonomous Vehicles Bill, which will provide a regulatory framework for self-driving cars, providing important protections and oversight of this technology, and we are pleased to see proposed measures to improve rail accessibility for disabled passengers."

Notes to Editors:

• The Equality and Human Rights Commission wrote a letter to the Minister for Women and Equalities in October 2023, urging the government to publish its draft bill to ban harmful conversion practices.

• In January 2022, the Equality and Human Rights Government also responded to a government consultation on banning conversion therapy, providing advice on the human rights implications on the ban.

• We provided written evidence to Parliament on the draft mental health bill in 2022.