Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, for what reason the Government Equalities Office published a collection of documents relating to the 2017 National LGBT Survey and 2018 Action Plan on the Department's website on 4 January 2022.

Earlier last year, the Minister for Women and Equalities set out her top LGBT policy priorities, which we are making good progress towards delivering. We have launched a public consultation on our plans to ban Conversion Therapy; we are digitising the Gender Recognition Certificate application process, having already reduced the fee, and are improving healthcare for trans people. In December 2021, we published the HIV Action Plan, whilst also announcing the end of the ban on HIV+ people joining the UK armed forces. This month we have announced an independent review into the impact of the pre-2000 ban on homosexuality in the armed forces on LGBT veterans, as part of the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan.

We have appointed Iain Anderson as LGBT Business Champion, and the Prime Minister has appointed Lord Herbert of South Downs as Special Envoy on LGBT rights, with both an international and domestic focus. The UK will also be hosting its first global LGBT conference in June, Safe To Be Me, which will bring together government representatives, businesses, civil society and international parliamentarians to address the safety of LGBT people at home and abroad.

The UK Government regularly updates GOV.UK to improve the experience and accessibility of users. The update on 4 January 2022, regarding the 2017 National LGBT Survey and 2018 Action Plan, was to support user access to existing, previously published, documents.