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Conversion Therapy Hotline Takes Four Calls in Three Months
— 3 mins read
The charity running it presses for tougher laws
A taxpayer-funded helpline for people affected by 'conversion therapy' received just four calls in three months, Scottish Government figures show. The charity running it was paid £71,996 of public money last year for the service.
The figures come from a Scottish Government freedom of information response published in May 2026. It states that 'four contacts relating to conversion practices were received by the helpline during the period October to December 2025'.
The government does not record how many individual people rang. The four contacts could have come from fewer than four callers.
Four calls, £72,000, and no record of who rang
The money funds conversion practices support services run by Edinburgh charity LGBT Health and Wellbeing. These include the helpline, live chat, email support, and fast-track counselling. The charity received similar sums in previous years, including £75,525 in 2023.
Christian Today calculated that at the reported rate of use, the funding works out at roughly £4,500 per contact. Judged by its results rather than its intentions, the scheme delivered four calls for a year's funding of nearly £72,000. Every pound came from Scottish taxpayers through the Scottish Government.
According to a press release from the Christian Institute, a guide to the helpline includes cartoon illustrations of possible scenarios. One reportedly shows a parent telling a child: 'You're too young, you're confused, we need to get you help.' The full guide has not been independently published.
Who pays for the charity behind the helpline
LGBT Health and Wellbeing is registered with the Scottish charity regulator as the LGBT Healthy Living Centre. Its annual income is around £1.15 million. Most of its funding comes from the Scottish Government's Equality and Human Rights Fund, NHS Lothian, local health partnerships, and donations.
Campaign group Sex Matters has warned that parents who question a child's wish to change gender could face jail.
The charity also runs Queer Milk, a peer-support group on breastfeeding for LGBT parents at its Edinburgh hub. Its attendees include men. GB News reported that the group has been criticised by campaigners including For Women Scotland. The Scottish Government has said the group is volunteer-run and does not receive direct government funding for lactation services.
The charity wants Scotland to go further than Westminster
LGBT Health and Wellbeing has responded to Scottish Government consultations and backs Scottish legislation to ban conversion practices. It supports comprehensive measures and argues Westminster's approach does not go far enough.
Westminster published a draft Conversion Practices Bill in June 2026 covering England and Wales. It carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, the same maximum as coercive control under the Serious Crime Act 2015. Scottish consultation papers have discussed sentences of up to seven years. Scotland has not yet published a draft bill of its own.
What the draft bill says
The Free Speech Union, a membership-funded organisation that receives no public money, is running a petition against the ban. It argues the bill is too broadly drawn and risks criminalising parents, therapists, and religious leaders. Campaign group Sex Matters has warned that parents who question a child's wish to change gender could face jail.
The government's draft bill includes defences and targets practices intended to change sexual orientation or gender identity that cause harm. It does not set an automatic penalty for a parent refusing consent to medical treatment. Critical reporting on the bill has not always made this clear.
The Scottish Government says it remains committed to legislation. As of August 2026, no Scottish draft bill has been published.
