Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bates on 19 December (HL3453, HL3455 and HL3456), whether any of the data collected in studies funded by the Home Office covers the whole of the United Kingdom or just England and Wales; and whether any United Kingdom-wide data has been disaggregated for the four nations of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government is committed to tackling female genital mutilation (FGM). The multi-agency practice guidelines on FGM are designed for application in England
and Wales. The guidelines include a weblink to information on the Scottish Government’s work on FGM.
The 42 joint protocols between the police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service apply in England and Wales only.
The 2007 and 2014 prevalence studies part-funded by the Home Office cover the number of girls and women affected by FGM in England and Wales. The full version of the 2014 study including data disaggregated at a local level in England and Wales will be published shortly.
The Government’s new specialist FGM Unit will work in consultation with partners in Scotland, as appropriate, to ensure a joined up approach to tackling FGM across the UK.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bates on 19 December (HL3453, HL3455 and HL3456), whether any of the 42 joint protocols between the police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service have any impact in Scotland; and whether any joint protocol has been established between police and prosecution services in England and Wales and in Scotland.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government is committed to tackling female genital mutilation (FGM). The multi-agency practice guidelines on FGM are designed for application in England
and Wales. The guidelines include a weblink to information on the Scottish Government’s work on FGM.
The 42 joint protocols between the police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service apply in England and Wales only.
The 2007 and 2014 prevalence studies part-funded by the Home Office cover the number of girls and women affected by FGM in England and Wales. The full version of the 2014 study including data disaggregated at a local level in England and Wales will be published shortly.
The Government’s new specialist FGM Unit will work in consultation with partners in Scotland, as appropriate, to ensure a joined up approach to tackling FGM across the UK.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bates on 19 December (HL3453, HL3455 and HL3456), whether the multi-agency guidelines to support better co-ordination of guidance on protecting girls from female genital mutilation have any relationship to public agencies in Scotland; and if not, what coordination exists between those guidelines and the guidelines that operate in Scotland.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government is committed to tackling female genital mutilation (FGM). The multi-agency practice guidelines on FGM are designed for application in England
and Wales. The guidelines include a weblink to information on the Scottish Government’s work on FGM.
The 42 joint protocols between the police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service apply in England and Wales only.
The 2007 and 2014 prevalence studies part-funded by the Home Office cover the number of girls and women affected by FGM in England and Wales. The full version of the 2014 study including data disaggregated at a local level in England and Wales will be published shortly.
The Government’s new specialist FGM Unit will work in consultation with partners in Scotland, as appropriate, to ensure a joined up approach to tackling FGM across the UK.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 6 January (HL3454), what process is in place to handle enquiries received by the female genital mutilation unit from individuals or organisations based in Scotland.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government is clear that female genital mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical
and psychological suffering to women and girls.
The Home Office has provided £100,000 through the FGM Community Engagement Initiative. The fund was open to organisations across all parts of the UK to bid for up to £10,000 to carry out community work to raise awareness of FGM amongst women already affected by FGM, young at-risk girls, as well as men in the community.
The Government’s specialist cross-Government FGM Unit launched on 5 December. The Unit will provide outreach support to local areas in England and Wales, act as a hub for effective practice, work with the police and develop cross-government policies on FGM.
The Unit does receive enquires from individuals and organisations in Scotland which are dealt with through appropriate consultation with partners in Scotland.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 6 January (HL3454), whether the new female genital mutilation unit is conducting nationwide outreach across the whole of the United Kingdom or just England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government is clear that female genital mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical
and psychological suffering to women and girls.
The Home Office has provided £100,000 through the FGM Community Engagement Initiative. The fund was open to organisations across all parts of the UK to bid for up to £10,000 to carry out community work to raise awareness of FGM amongst women already affected by FGM, young at-risk girls, as well as men in the community.
The Government’s specialist cross-Government FGM Unit launched on 5 December. The Unit will provide outreach support to local areas in England and Wales, act as a hub for effective practice, work with the police and develop cross-government policies on FGM.
The Unit does receive enquires from individuals and organisations in Scotland which are dealt with through appropriate consultation with partners in Scotland.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 6 January (HL3454), whether the female genital mutilation community engagement initiative funded by the Home Office covers the whole of the United Kingdom or just England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government is clear that female genital mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical
and psychological suffering to women and girls.
The Home Office has provided £100,000 through the FGM Community Engagement Initiative. The fund was open to organisations across all parts of the UK to bid for up to £10,000 to carry out community work to raise awareness of FGM amongst women already affected by FGM, young at-risk girls, as well as men in the community.
The Government’s specialist cross-Government FGM Unit launched on 5 December. The Unit will provide outreach support to local areas in England and Wales, act as a hub for effective practice, work with the police and develop cross-government policies on FGM.
The Unit does receive enquires from individuals and organisations in Scotland which are dealt with through appropriate consultation with partners in Scotland.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 9 January (HL3493), whether the Forced Marriage Unit operates across the whole of the United Kingdom; and if not, what arrangements for co-ordination exist with the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Bates
The number of reported cases to the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) each year does not reflect the full scale of the abuse, as many more cases go unreported. 82% of the reported number of 2013 cases involved female victims. The FMU operates across the whole of the UK, where support is provided to any individual of any nationality. It also operates overseas where consular assistance is provided to British nationals, including dual nationals.
The data held by the FMU cannot specifically be broken down to identify cases for advice or support relating to British girls sent abroad. To provide more detailed information on the figures for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, would involve a disproportionate cost. We also have no plans to publish figures in this format in future years.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 9 January (HL3493), whether the 1,302 cases of advice or support related to a possible forced marriage can be broken down into figures for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and if not, whether they can be broken down in future years.
Answered by Lord Bates
The number of reported cases to the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) each year does not reflect the full scale of the abuse, as many more cases go unreported. 82% of the reported number of 2013 cases involved female victims. The FMU operates across the whole of the UK, where support is provided to any individual of any nationality. It also operates overseas where consular assistance is provided to British nationals, including dual nationals.
The data held by the FMU cannot specifically be broken down to identify cases for advice or support relating to British girls sent abroad. To provide more detailed information on the figures for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, would involve a disproportionate cost. We also have no plans to publish figures in this format in future years.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 9 January (HL3493), how many of the 1,302 cases identified for advice or support in 2013 were about British girls sent abroad to marry in that year.
Answered by Lord Bates
The number of reported cases to the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) each year does not reflect the full scale of the abuse, as many more cases go unreported. 82% of the reported number of 2013 cases involved female victims. The FMU operates across the whole of the UK, where support is provided to any individual of any nationality. It also operates overseas where consular assistance is provided to British nationals, including dual nationals.
The data held by the FMU cannot specifically be broken down to identify cases for advice or support relating to British girls sent abroad. To provide more detailed information on the figures for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, would involve a disproportionate cost. We also have no plans to publish figures in this format in future years.