The Scottish Government spent almost £72,000 of taxpayers’ money on a ‘conversion practices’ helpline used just a handful of times, it has been revealed.
Figures obtained by The Christian Institute show that the Scottish Government paid £71,996 in 2025 to LGBT Health and Wellbeing to operate the helpline. However, between October and December 2025, the service was contacted only four times – possibly by the same individual.
LGBT Health and Wellbeing came under fire recently for promoting the practice of ‘Queer chestfeeding’.
Criminalising parents
The helpline’s guidance suggests that ordinary parental conversations about a child’s gender may amount to so-called conversion therapy. One illustration depicts a parent telling a child: “You’re too young, you’re confused, we need to get you help.”
Another example includes “being prayed over” and “pastoral counselling”.
the nation’s most expensive helpline
LGBT Health and Wellbeing has been lobbying the Scottish Government to introduce wide-ranging ‘conversion therapy’ legislation. In a strongly worded letter to Scottish Ministers last month, the group argued that Westminster’s recently published draft proposals do not go far enough, and that Scotland should introduce its own, more “comprehensive” ban.
Misuse of money
Joanna Timm, Senior Public Affairs Officer at The Christian Institute, told The Sunday Times: “These figures expose an extraordinary misuse of public money. Scottish taxpayers have funded what may well be the nation’s most expensive helpline.”
She continued: “Existing criminal law already deals with abusive and coercive behaviour. The kind of law LGBT Health and Wellbeing is demanding would redefine ordinary parenting, pastoral care and prayer as ‘conversion therapy’.
“Taxpayers should not be forced to bankroll an organisation that promotes controversial gender ideology while campaigning for a law that could criminalise ordinary conversations between parents and children, or ministers and members of their congregations.”
For Women Scotland’s Susan Smith added: “An honest service and an honest government would admit that lack of take up indicates that there is no point in wasting time and capital on ‘solving’ this non-issue. They would focus on the pressing needs which face the people of Scotland.”
‘Not for the baby’
Earlier this month, LGBT Health and Wellbeing sparked outrage for running a support group for biological men who identify as women and want to ‘chestfeed’ babies by taking cross-sex hormones to mimic breastfeeding.
The group’s advertisement for the Edinburgh ‘Queer Milk’ support group says: “You are welcome to attend the group whatever your feeding journey looks like. Whether you are mixed feeding, chestfeeding, breastfeeding, using an SNS or donor milk or any of the beautiful and varied ways you might be giving human milk to your baby.”
However, Dr Alice Hodkinson, co-founder of campaign group Biology in Medicine, stated: “There’s no such thing as chestfeeding. You need to be a woman and you need to have breasts to breastfeed.”
She explained that, while mothers can produce pints of milk for their child, the most that men have been recorded producing is “a thimbleful”.
Dr Hodkinson noted: “This is not for the baby. This does not benefit the baby, and we have to be very clear about this, that there’s something else going on that a man should want to do this.”
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