Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 2 October 2025 (HL10716), when they intend to publish the statutory guidance to accompany the Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Public sexual harassment is a crime that often leaves victims, who are disproportionately likely to be women, feeling very unsafe. That is why tackling it is an important part of our mission on VAWG.

The “Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls”, published on 18th December 2025, committed to commence the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023 on 1 April 2026. This includes publication of the statutory guidance for police on the same day, which is a requirement of Section 2 of the Act. We are working directly with policing to ensure everything in is in place to support them in enforcing the aggravated offence from 1 April 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to update the annual data requirement to ensure that police forces record and submit data on the biological sex of suspects, victims and complainants; and if so, when this will take place.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is carefully considering the implications of the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of sex within the Equality Act in the context of what needs and is proportionate to record for a policing purpose and the Annual Data Requirement will be updated in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Department for Education has declined to lay before Parliament a draft statutory code submitted by an arm's-length body between January 2015 and December 2025, where that code has not been subject to litigation.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The department has not declined to lay a draft statutory code submitted by an arm’s length body. The government is currently considering a submitted code and, if the decision is taken to approve it, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education will lay it before Parliament. Parliament will then have a 40-day period to consider the draft code.