Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of adequacy of existing enforcement powers and resources available to Ofcom and law enforcement bodies to prevent the distribution and monetisation of violent, degrading or illegal pornographic content online; and what plans they have to bring forward further legislative or resourcing proposals.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Ofcom has a suite of enforcement powers to deploy where providers fail to comply with their duties under the Online Safety Act to deal with illegal content and content harmful to children. These include powers to fine up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue. Ofcom has launched an enforcement programme to protect children encountering pornographic content.
The Independent Pornography Review published its final report on 27 February 2025. The government is grateful to Baroness Bertin for her Review. It is right that the government takes time to understand this complex yet deeply important topic.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential for official speech-related guidance to create a chilling effect on free expression of religious or philosophical belief.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Freedom of religion and belief is a fundamental human right. People are expected to express their views concerning religion and beliefs respectfully, acting within the confines of the law when providing criticism. This government is committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion and we will not tolerate religious hatred in any form.
Our approach to tackling religious hatred does not and would never inhibit free speech or override fundamental rights such as the right to freedom of religion and belief. The courts recognise the right to manifest religious belief as one of fundamental importance, but it is limited by the State’s legal obligation to protect the rights and freedoms of others – this includes respect for their freedom to have religions or beliefs different to our own. Any definition of religious hatred that the Government has adopted or may choose to adopt would be non-statutory.
Operational guidance relating to speech and expression is the responsibility of the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, who develop such guidance in line with legislation that is determined by Parliament.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to safeguard freedom of religion and belief in developing new or updated hate crime or anti-discrimination definitions.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Freedom of religion and belief is a fundamental human right. People are expected to express their views concerning religion and beliefs respectfully, acting within the confines of the law when providing criticism. This government is committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion and we will not tolerate religious hatred in any form.
Our approach to tackling religious hatred does not and would never inhibit free speech or override fundamental rights such as the right to freedom of religion and belief. The courts recognise the right to manifest religious belief as one of fundamental importance, but it is limited by the State’s legal obligation to protect the rights and freedoms of others – this includes respect for their freedom to have religions or beliefs different to our own. Any definition of religious hatred that the Government has adopted or may choose to adopt would be non-statutory.
Operational guidance relating to speech and expression is the responsibility of the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, who develop such guidance in line with legislation that is determined by Parliament.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to issue guidance to faith communities regarding mandatory reporting duties to be imposed by the Crime and Policing Bill.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government will set out clear guidance on the operation of the mandatory reporting duty. We will continue to engage with groups that may be impacted, including in faith settings, to ensure the requirements of the new duty are clearly communicated ahead of implementation.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will set out a full timetable for the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Pornography Review, published on 27 February.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We welcome the findings of the Independent Pornography Review and the valuable insights it has provided into the online pornography landscape. The government continues to consider the findings of the Review and its thirty-two recommendations. Due to the cross departmental nature of the Review’s recommendations, we are not yet able to provide a timeline for the Government’s response. We will provide a further update in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce children's exposure to harmful online content, and what further measures they plan to take following the Online Safety Act 2023 to prevent children under 18 from accessing pornographic material online.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Online Safety Act requires all in-scope services to tackle illegal content and criminal behaviour online to protect adults and children, including extreme pornography.
Services in scope of the OSA likely to be accessed by children which allow pornography are required to implement highly effective age assurance to prevent children encountering this online.
Additionally, these services must use highly effective age assurance to prevent children encountering self-harm, suicide and eating disorder content online. They must also provide age-appropriate protections against other harmful content.
We will not hesitate to go further to protect children online where evidence shows this is necessary.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition Working Group has provided a proposed new definition to them; and when they expect to report on that definition.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Working Group have now submitted their independent advice to Ministers who will take the time to review and consider the advice carefully before confirming next steps in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the introduction of telemedicine for first-trimester abortions on the number of criminal prosecutions in England and Wales over the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The offences that apply in cases of unlawful abortion are administering drugs to procure an abortion and procuring drugs to cause abortion under sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, as well as child destruction under section 1 of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929.
Publicly available Ministry of Justice statistics show the following number of prosecutions brought under those offences:
Proceeded against | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
Procuring Illegal Abortion (Sections 58 & 59 Offences Against the Person Act 1861) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Child Destruction (Section 1 Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
This data is held on a principal-offence basis and therefore reports information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt for.
The available data does not specify how many of these prosecutions are linked to the use of telemedicine for early medical abortion. The Government has not made an assessment on the connection between the number of prosecutions for unlawful abortions and the availability of telemedicine for early medical abortion.
The Department of Health and Social Care is responsible for the policy relating to telemedicine for early medical abortion.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of abortion decriminalisation on public confidence in the protection of unborn children and wider societal attitudes towards the value of life.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made. It is for Parliament to decide the circumstances under which abortions should take place. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance, and parliamentarians individually decide whether and how they wish to vote.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential risks of decriminalising abortion to vulnerable women, including those who may be subject to coercion or abuse; and what safeguarding measures they plan to put in place to protect them.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made. It is for Parliament to decide the circumstances under which abortions should take place.
As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance, and parliamentarians individually decide whether and how they wish to vote.
The House of Commons has voted to add a clause to the Crime and Policing Bill which disapplies the criminal offences related to abortion from women in relation to her own pregnancy. These offences would still apply to medical professionals and third parties who do not abide by the rules set out in the Abortion Act 1967.
The safeguarding of children, young people, and adults who are at risk is a fundamental obligation for everyone who works in the National Health Service and its partner agencies. If decriminalisation of abortion for pregnant women acting in relation to their own pregnancy becomes law, the Department will consider whether sufficient safeguards are already in place or whether additional guidance is needed.