Armed Forces: HIV policy
(1 day, 5 hours ago)
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The Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry (Luke Pollard)
I am pleased to announce to the House that the UK is now the first NATO nation to allow people living with HIV to serve and fully deploy in all roles—supporting the UK Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and our goal of ending new HIV cases by 2030.
Following a comprehensive review, Defence is lifting restrictions that previously prevented people living with HIV from working in military aviation as aircrew or controllers across the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force, ensuring they can pursue any career path within the armed forces based on their skills and abilities.
Personnel and all those wishing to join the military who take treatment for HIV, and whose blood tests show no detectable virus, have been recognised as able to serve in almost all roles since June 2022. Today’s policy update now includes the remaining three professions: aircrew and air traffic controllers in all services and Royal Navy divers.
The review, conducted in partnership with the Terrence Higgins Trust and the British HIV Association, has resulted in policy changes across all three services:
Royal Navy: The review confirmed that military divers face no HIV-specific additional barriers, with no evidence of discrimination.
British Army: Defence policy has been updated to remove the indirect medical restriction on people living with HIV serving in the Parachute Regiment and airborne forces.
Royal Air Force and aviation: Restrictions in place for people living with HIV have been lifted for both current and potential aircrew and air traffic controllers.
I want to thank people living with HIV, Terrence Higgins Trust and the British HIV Association for their partnership in this review.
This is a landmark moment for our armed forces and for equality in military service. By lifting these final restrictions, we are ensuring that anyone living with HIV can serve their country in any role they choose, based on their talent and dedication, not on outdated policies.
This change is not just about updating policy—it is about changing culture, challenging stigma, and ensuring our armed forces remain a modern, inclusive employer that attracts the best talent from across our nation.
Four years ago, we became the first NATO nation to welcome people living with HIV into uniformed service. Today, we are leading again by becoming the first to allow them to serve and fully deploy in all roles.
[HCWS1127]
Death of Harry Dunn: Review of Government Response
(1 day, 5 hours ago)
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The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Yvette Cooper)
The Government have today published the report from the independent review of the UK Government’s response to the death of Harry Dunn, and the support offered to the family by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This is available on gov.uk, and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Harry Dunn was 19 when he was killed on 27 August 2019, following a head-on collision with a vehicle near RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire. The vehicle was being driven on the wrong side of the road by Mrs Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US State Department official who was working at RAF Croughton.
This independent review was commissioned by the former Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy), following his engagement with the family of Harry Dunn, and in response to concerns they had expressed about the handling of the case by the UK Government, and in particular by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO, now FCDO), in the months immediately following Harry’s death. The review was conducted by Dame Anne Owers DBE.
There have been a number of legal proceedings related to the Harry Dunn’s death, including civil proceedings in the United States, the criminal prosecution of Mrs Sacoolas, a coroner’s inquest and a judicial review of the FCDO’s decision making and position on Mrs Sacoolas’s immunity. The terms of reference for the review, which are included as an annex to the report, mandated an explicit focus on the support given to the family by the FCO in the four-month period following the death of Mr Dunn, from August to December 2019, and did not seek to revisit any previous reviews or judgments.
HMG supported the process in full, during which Dame Anne examined a significant amount of documentary evidence, and interviewed a wide range of stakeholders, including many FCO officials who worked on the issue at the time. She also engaged with the family of Harry Dunn, the Victims Commissioner, Crown Prosecution Service and others.
The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the handling of the case by the FCO, and makes 12 recommendations, 10 of which are specific to the FCDO. It finds that failings and omissions were made in response to the incident, including a failure to recognise the family as allies in achieving justice for Harry. I have accepted all the recommendations, and, with my Department, I am committed to ensuring that any similar case in future will be handled with the benefit of improved practices in the light of the review, in particular with regards to family engagement and support for victims. No family facing a crisis of this kind should have to fight for the support they deserve like Harry’s did.
Dame Anne met with me on 27 November formally to present and discuss her conclusions and recommendations. I thank her for diligence and her service to the public and public services in carrying out the review and providing her recommendations. I have also met with the family of Harry Dunn and shared the report directly with them. Nothing will bring Harry back, but I hope that the review and this statement to the House provides them some measure of comfort.
[HCWS1126]
Pride in Place Programme Prospectus
(1 day, 5 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
In September, we announced the Pride in Place programme, providing up to £5 billion to drive change that people can see from their doorsteps. Today, I have published the programme prospectus, so that local neighbourhoods can get on with delivering that change.
This prospectus will kick-start transformation across the country, leading to the establishment of 169 neighbourhood boards made up of local people—residents, grassroots activists, faith and business leaders—committed to making their neighbourhood a better place. They will join 75 communities, from Grimsby to Jarrow, who have already come together to agree a plan for the future of their neighbourhoods.
Neighbourhood boards, led by an independent chair, will drive change in their community over the next decade, and this prospectus gives them what they need to make this happen. Each chair must be genuinely representative of the community, with a deep connection to their local area, and the support of both the local authority and the MP to champion their neighbourhood and provide leadership. The chair must get the right people around the table to come up with a plan that delivers the change people want to see. They will be responsible for appointing a wider board of residents, local businesses, grassroots campaigners, workplace representatives, and faith and community leaders, who will sit alongside the local MP and councillor. The local authority and the local MP must also approve the final board selection. These must be in place by 17 July 2026, but we strongly encourage boards to confirm their membership earlier if they can.
Each neighbourhood board will work with the wider community to develop a Pride in Place plan, setting out how the £20 million will transform the local area. The plan must reflect the change that local people want to see, and the board must be guided by the wider community to ensure that. The prospectus sets out how boards can and should collaborate with the surrounding community to co-design the Pride in Place plan over the 10 years of the programme. No funding will be given for the implementation of the plan unless the board can prove that it will deliver the change the neighbourhood wants. The local MP, as a member of the board, will play a critical role in helping to convene every part of their community to make this happen.
In each of the 244 neighbourhoods, the plan must explain how they will invest up to £20 million over the next decade—split 63% capital, 37% revenue—to deliver three objectives: thriving places, stronger communities and taking back control. Today, we also published a revised list of indicative interventions to help boards develop these plans—such as visual improvements and new places to meet—in order to provide examples of how the funding may be spent.
This programme aims to deliver lasting change beyond the 10 years of investment. The prospectus sets out an expectation that each board must transition towards a community-led model by year 3 of the programme. This might mean an established local community organisation acting as an anchor institution, or the board transitioning to become a co-operative, community interest company or charity. A communities delivery unit in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will support the transition.
We know that Britain’s neighbourhoods are impatient for change. When the decline in pride in place so often stems from a “we know best” attitude from those at the top, the answer must be to put communities in control. The programme prospectus we published today is the next step towards that.
[HCWS1125]
Sexual Offence Prosecutions: Use of Evidence
(1 day, 5 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Alex Davies-Jones)
Today, I am pleased to announce that this Government will be bringing forward legislation to prevent the misuse of evidence in sexual offence prosecutions.
These changes follow a comprehensive report published by the Law Commission entitled “Evidence in sexual offences prosecutions: a final report”. This report specifically considered how myths and misconceptions about sexual violence permeate the trial process and influence jurors’ deliberations. Its recommendations aim to improve the treatment and experience of victims at court, while ensuring that defendants receive a fair trial. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Law Commission for its detailed work on this complex matter.
First, we will create a clear statutory threshold for admitting “victim bad character” evidence. Where a defendant seeks to rely on an allegation that a victim has previously lied about being a victim of a sexual offence, that allegation must have a proper evidential basis before it can be admitted as evidence in criminal proceedings. The fact that a previous allegation was not reported, or did not lead to charge or conviction, will not be sufficient to reach this threshold.
Secondly, we will introduce legislation providing a higher admissibility threshold for victims’ compensation claim evidence in trials concerning sexual offences, providing that this evidence cannot be admitted unless it has substantial probative value. The fact that a victim has made a claim, and the outcome of this claim, are not sufficient grounds to insinuate that someone is bringing a case for the purposes of financial gain. This measure recognises that all victims of crime have a right seek compensation, and should not be unfairly stigmatised for doing so.
Thirdly, we will amend the threshold for the admissibility of sexual behaviour evidence. We want to ensure that the legislative threshold is clear, and can be consistently applied. New legislation will continue to provide that SBE should not as a rule be admitted, but if it is to be, it must have substantial probative value or be important explanatory evidence. Legislation will also ask judges to consider factors such as the risk that the evidence relies on myths and misconceptions.
In addition, we know that domestic abuse can take many forms, can escalate within a relationship or can present differently with different victims. Currently, unlike with certain categories of offences, legislation does not specify that domestic abuse convictions of any kind can demonstrate a propensity to commit further domestic abuse offences—especially if the previous offence was not the same type of offence as that which they are currently charged with. It means that, for example, evidence of a previous common assault may not be brought before the jury in a sexual offence case, even if both are occasions of partner abuse. We do not think this is right in the context of domestic abuse. We will ensure that domestic abuse offences of any type can be admitted to demonstrate a propensity for further offending in a domestic abuse context, against any victim—whether that is a conviction of coercive control followed by sexual offending, or physical abuse turned to economic abuse.
Recognising how daunting it can be for victims to give evidence, we will further strengthen the support available at court by bringing forward legislation on the use of special measures. This will allow witnesses to be accompanied by a companion when giving evidence, and will clarify the circumstances in which the court can exclude intimidating individuals from the public gallery or combine special measures, so that witnesses can give their best evidence. Our reforms will also clarify courtroom screens’ role in shielding witnesses from view of the defendant when they give evidence, allow victims to use special measures when reading their victim personal statement and enshrine in law the court’s power to edit pre-recorded evidence so it is suitable for use in proceedings and free from inadmissible or irrelevant material.
I hope that these changes will give victims the confidence that they will be treated fairly in court, while preserving judicial independence and the right to a fair trial.
I would like to thank all of those who have campaigned on these issues over recent months and years. I look forward to bringing these important changes to legislation before the House.
[HCWS1124]