Crime and Policing Bill

Alison Hume Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 10th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

I warmly welcome the clauses in this landmark Bill that will give greater protection to victims of stalking—including guidance for police about disclosing the identity of online stalkers to victims—and clarify what constitutes stalking so that the police have no excuse not to pursue incidents.

Some 91% of victims surveyed by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust had suffered from mental health problems as a result of being stalked. Being stalked is also an indicator of being at high risk of domestic homicide. It is vital that victims feel safe to report what they are suffering, which is why I welcome the opening of the purpose-built Acer House centre for victims of rape and sexual assault in York and North Yorkshire. It has been designed in consultation with victims to provide a safe and supportive environment in which evidence can be collected, and people can receive immediate health care and a medical examination if needed.

According to Women’s Aid, stalking by ex-partners accounts for the largest group of stalking victims, with the vast majority of victims being women. As with domestic abuse in general, rates of prosecution and conviction are shockingly low. In the year to March 2024, North Yorkshire police recorded 1,045 stalking offences, but only 75 resulted in a charge or summons. In just over half the original cases, the victim chose not to pursue the case. Work by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust helps to explain why, and argues that victims have been let down at every stage by the police, the CPS, and the courts. The trust’s super-complaint against the police in 2022 found that they were not even identifying stalking cases, and even when they were, they often did not properly investigate. The trust recommended that stalking protection orders should be applied for and put in place at as early a stage as possible.

After years of failure under the Tories, this Bill cannot come soon enough for victims of stalking. New domestic abuse protection orders have been piloted, which victims can apply for themselves. Stalking victims also feel that their lives are controlled by someone else, so giving them the chance to apply for a stalking protection order would hand power back to them. I am so pleased that the Government are considering wider changes to stalking protection orders, and I invite the Minister to comment on whether they will look at allowing victims to apply for them. To conclude, on behalf of my constituents in Scarborough and Whitby I am proud to support the Bill.

International Women�s Day

Alison Hume Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me to make a contribution to this debate on International Women�s Day. I am proud to be the first woman to represent my constituency of Scarborough and Whitby.

In my acceptance speech, I pledged to play my part in ending the epidemic of violence against women and girls, and to see the very first women�s refuge built in North Yorkshire. Today, I rise to pay tribute to a constituent who has spent a lifetime overcoming what happened to her as a young girl to become an outspoken survivor and an advocate for victims of child sexual abuse. When I say �a lifetime�, I mean a lifetime. Abused at 10, Suzzanne buried what had happened to her to build a successful career and raise a family. She told me that it was only once her children had grown up and left home that she felt able to deal with what had happened to her. At 48, she went to the police. When she was 50, and after a very traumatic and drawn-out investigation and trial, the perpetrator was sentenced to 13 years. Such perpetrators serve only half of their sentences in prison, and he is due to be released in the summer.

As a childminder and early years inspector, Suzzanne loves where she lives. Of course she does�it is her home. But as she waits for the decision of the Parole Board, she is planning to sell her home, because when her abuser is released, he will move back to his family home, which is a few streets away from her�a house that she has to walk past to reach her parents� home. The man who abused my constituent as a child will live literally two streets away from her, in a house that is a three-minute walk from her home, a mere 322 metres away, and visible from her upstairs rooms. Understandably, she cannot face the thought of coming face to face with her abuser.

Suzzanne told me that she was very fortunate to have been signposted to IDAS, a specialist charity supporting victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence. She says that without its support, she would have taken her own life. Why should a man who has abused a child in their close neighbourhood be allowed to return to live just a few streets away? It goes beyond whether perpetrators are seen as a risk, and it continues the suffering of women and girls who have suffered abuse.

I am sure there are no easy answers, but I pay tribute to Suzzanne for allowing me to share her story. I thank her for her courage. We want women to feel safe on the streets and in their homes, including survivors like Suzzanne.

[Several hon. Members rose�]

Oral Answers to Questions

Alison Hume Excerpts

Monday 13th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

12. What steps her Department is taking to help tackle violence against women and girls.

[Steve Witherden (Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr) (Lab)]

25. What steps her Department is taking to help tackle violence against women and girls.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jess Phillips]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for both the tone and the sentiment of his question, and I hope that everyone in the House agrees with him. I spent the weekend in my surgery dealing with cases that are live today involving the grooming of both boys and girls by organised groups of varying sorts. It is, in fact, 15 years since the original Jay report on the events in Rotherham. As for the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, we will work at pace with the stakeholders, including the victims and Professor Alexis Jay, to ensure that what was intended in those recommendations can happen. I will do that as quickly as it can possibly be done, but I will not do what was done by the last Government and just say, “Yeah, sure” and then leave it to chance.

[Alison Hume]

North Yorkshire is the largest rural county in the country. Behind the beauty of the villages and hamlets in my constituency of Scarborough and Whitby lies an ugly truth: on average, victims in rural areas are subject to domestic abuse for 25% longer than those in urban areas and are half as likely to report it. Can the Minister reassure the House that more funding to tackle rural domestic violence is part of the Government’s strategy to halve violence against women and girls?

[Jess Phillips]

The strategy to halve violence against women and girls is for every single part of our country. The Government recognise that victims in rural and remote areas face particular barriers in fleeing abuse and accessing support. We are already driving forward a range of activities that will support rural victims. The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 will require local commissioners to develop joint needs assessments for victims of domestic abuse, to identify gaps in support. I encourage all Members to engage with that process when it comes to their local area, and I will happily work with rural MPs in this House to make sure that that is the case.

Men’s Violence against Women and Girls

Alison Hume Excerpts

Friday 29th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Emily Darlington]

I thank my hon. Friend, who I know cares deeply about this issue. I see the value in ensuring there is no fear when a Member of Parliament visits. People should always be able to have confidence in us around the elderly, children and women in our constituencies.

The theme of this year’s White Ribbon Day is “It starts with men.” Not all men are violent, but all men can help end violence against women and girls. I thank some of the men who have spoken on this issue recently, and who are paving the way as incredible role models for other men. My hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton-Glynn) has worked tirelessly on this issue, my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool South (Chris Webb) spoke passionately at the White Ribbon Day reception, and many others spoke in the Westminster Hall debate and have asked questions in this House.

It starts with us in this House. When Members fall short, it is right that we, the men and women of this House, call it out. Through the Modernisation Committee and other initiatives, such as DBS checks, I hope we can determine whether Members with violent criminal records have been elected to this House.

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

Refuges offer protection from perpetrators, time to recover from abuse and a range of support to enable survivors to rebuild their lives, yet 61% of refuge referrals in England last year had to be declined due to lack of capacity. Scarborough and Whitby has the highest rate of recorded domestic incidents in North Yorkshire, but it has no refuge. Does my hon. Friend agree that the refuge sector needs more support?

[Emily Darlington]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. There are far too few refuges, and those that exist often have too few beds and are often not appropriate for the kind of care and support that both survivors and their children need. I would like to see more examples like the purpose-built refuge in Milton Keynes, which provides care and counselling for every family member who needs to flee. However, achieving this will require more support from both local authorities and the Government. We must ensure that best practice is shared and that funding is in place.

Excuses have been made for far too long. “I was drunk.” “Her skirt was short.” “Her heels were high.” “It was a teenage indiscretion.” We must remember that our behaviour, our words and our actions are being watched. We have the opportunity to turn the tide for the 50% of the population who are scared to walk down the street, to attend a festival, to go for a run or even to go home.

The statistics on violence against woman and girls make too many women feel like it is inevitable that something will happen to them, even if it has already happened to them before. To them, it feels like only a matter of time. It is up to every Member of this House, women and men, to hold themselves up as an example of how real men behave and how women deserve to be treated.

Violence against Women and Girls

Alison Hume Excerpts

Wednesday 27th November 2024 Westminster Hall

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Apsana Begum) for securing this important debate.

In my constituency of Scarborough and Whitby, Scarborough has the highest rate of domestic incidents per 1,000 head of population, at 15.7 recorded in North Yorkshire. A constituent, who I will call Anna—not her real name—came to see me to tell me what happened to her. I commend her for her bravery and honesty. Anna suffered abuse of the most extreme kind from her ex-partner, including an attempt at strangulation. She applied for and was granted a restraining order, but it was ignored by the perpetrator and the order was not enforced.

At a pre-trial hearing, the judge came to an agreement out of court. Despite Anna’s passing out, it was decided that it was pressure on her neck, not strangulation. Anna’s attacker was given a suspended sentence in order to undertake a relationship-building course with the probation service. Anna lives in fear of what he might do to her or other women at his workplace, who of course have no knowledge about his violent past. Anna’s experiences of the criminal justice system have taken a toll on her, leaving her without the strength to ask for a review from the court or the police.

My constituent’s case is far from untypical. A study by Women’s Aid on the family courts published last week found that survivors overwhelmingly felt that their experiences had been made worse by the justice system. We must do better. I look forward to hearing from the Minister how we can support people like Anna, whom I commend for her bravery in speaking out.

Police Reform

Alison Hume Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Dame Diana Johnson]

I reassure the hon. Gentleman that my noble Friend Lord Hanson, the Lords Minister, is looking at this. I gently point out that, in relation to fraud, we are having to deal with our inheritance from the previous Administration. We will now look at some of the problems with Action Fraud that they did not deal with.

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

The latest crime figures show that shoplifting has shot up to a 20-year high, knife crime has risen yet again and violence against women and girls remains shamefully and persistently high. Does the Minister agree that this shows the last Tory Government’s disgraceful dereliction on law and order?

[Dame Diana Johnson]

My hon. Friend puts it well. This is why our safer streets mission has the ambitious aim to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade, to halve knife crime over the next decade, to restore neighbourhood policing and to restore confidence in the criminal justice system.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alison Hume Excerpts

Monday 29th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

3. What steps her Department plans to take to tackle violence against women and girls.

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

5. What steps her Department plans to take to tackle violence against women and girls.

[Mrs Elsie Blundell (Heywood and Middleton North) (Lab)]

12. What steps her Department plans to take to tackle violence against women and girls.

--- Later in debate ---

[Yvette Cooper]

I agree with the hon. Member that this has to be a broad mission; that is why the Prime Minister has talked about it being not just for Government or any individual Department. We will work on it across Government, but it must be about society as a whole. The Education Secretary has talked about tackling toxic misogyny in schools as well.

[Alison Hume]

I welcome the steps that my right hon. Friend is taking to reduce violence against women and girls. Women’s refuges and other dispersed accommodation play a vital part in helping women and their children to escape domestic abuse. Scarborough has the highest domestic abuse rate in North Yorkshire, but we do not have a single refuge in the constituency of Scarborough and Whitby. Planning permission for a women’s refuge at Danes Dyke was granted in 2022, but progress has stalled due to rising business costs. Will the Home Secretary please advise on how the shortfall in funds referenced by North Yorkshire council, Beyond Housing and Homes England can be dealt with, so that this vital service can be built?

[Yvette Cooper]

My hon. Friend is right to point out the important work done by refuges, as well as all kinds of voluntary sector groups who do immensely important work supporting victims and providing specialist advice. We have to recognise that funding for local council services has been hit; that is one of the issues that will be covered by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor in her statement in due course. We want to see work done in every community across the country as part of this mission, so that we get the best impact from every pound there is for supporting women and girls who face violence and abuse.