Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of indecent exposure to women were reported in rural areas in each of the latest years for which data is available.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) on the prevalence of indecent exposure experienced by adults in England and Wales. The most recent statistics can be found in tables S41 and S42 of the Annual Supplementary Tables for the year ending March 2024, split by men and women, and by whether the respondent experienced indecent exposure any time since age 16, or within the last year. A time series for the prevalence of indecent exposure in the last year back to the year ending March 2013, split by men and women, can be found in tables S43a, S43b, and S43c. These can be accessed at:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesannualsupplementarytables

More detailed statistics from the CSEW on indecent exposure and other VAWG related offences broken down by output area classification and area type, including rural areas, can be found in table 8 of the Sexual offending: Crime Survey for England and Wales appendix tables. These data cover the period up to the year ending March 2018, and can be accessed at:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/sexualoffendingcrimesurveyforenglandandwalesappendixtables

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of indecent exposure offences reported to and recorded by the police in England and Wales. This information can be accessed at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tables

This does not include a breakdown on the location of crimes, which is not published by the Home Office.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support women's safety in rural areas.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Ensuring women and girls’ safety is a top priority for this Government. We have set out an unprecedented mission to halve the level of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade. That means working across Government to tackle threats to women’s safety in all areas of their lives and across the country including in rural areas.

The Safer Streets Mission is driving delivery across Government to achieve this. We are spearheading a cross-Government approach to preventing and tackling VAWG through the Safer Streets Mission Board, ensuring that all of Government is focused on achieving our mission.

We will set out concrete measures to halving VAWG in a new cross-Government VAWG strategy to be published later this year. Our aim is to deliver transformative change to all areas of society.

It is vital that victims of VAWG have access to the support they need when they need it most, including those living in rural areas. That is why the Home Office continues to fund organisations providing vital frontline support to victims of VAWG nationally, including a range of specialist national helplines which provide guidance and support to all victims.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of violence against women and girls were reported in rural areas in each of the latest years for which data is available.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) on the prevalence of indecent exposure experienced by adults in England and Wales. The most recent statistics can be found in tables S41 and S42 of the Annual Supplementary Tables for the year ending March 2024, split by men and women, and by whether the respondent experienced indecent exposure any time since age 16, or within the last year. A time series for the prevalence of indecent exposure in the last year back to the year ending March 2013, split by men and women, can be found in tables S43a, S43b, and S43c. These can be accessed at:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesannualsupplementarytables

More detailed statistics from the CSEW on indecent exposure and other VAWG related offences broken down by output area classification and area type, including rural areas, can be found in table 8 of the Sexual offending: Crime Survey for England and Wales appendix tables. These data cover the period up to the year ending March 2018, and can be accessed at:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/sexualoffendingcrimesurveyforenglandandwalesappendixtables

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of indecent exposure offences reported to and recorded by the police in England and Wales. This information can be accessed at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tables

This does not include a breakdown on the location of crimes, which is not published by the Home Office.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of indecent exposure to women were reported in each of the latest years for which data is available.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) on the prevalence of indecent exposure experienced by adults in England and Wales. The most recent statistics can be found in tables S41 and S42 of the Annual Supplementary Tables for the year ending March 2024, split by men and women, and by whether the respondent experienced indecent exposure any time since age 16, or within the last year. A time series for the prevalence of indecent exposure in the last year back to the year ending March 2013, split by men and women, can be found in tables S43a, S43b, and S43c. These can be accessed at:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesannualsupplementarytables

More detailed statistics from the CSEW on indecent exposure and other VAWG related offences broken down by output area classification and area type, including rural areas, can be found in table 8 of the Sexual offending: Crime Survey for England and Wales appendix tables. These data cover the period up to the year ending March 2018, and can be accessed at:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/sexualoffendingcrimesurveyforenglandandwalesappendixtables

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of indecent exposure offences reported to and recorded by the police in England and Wales. This information can be accessed at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tables

This does not include a breakdown on the location of crimes, which is not published by the Home Office.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the efficiency of Veterans UK in processing injured veterans' claims.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

I regularly meet the Chief Executive of Defence Business Services, most recently on 29 April 2025 to discuss performance and related issues. The average clearance times for Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and War Pension Scheme (WPS) claims are currently higher than target, and we are focused on bringing these down. I am pleased to say volumes and clearance times of AFCS claims have begun to fall.

The digitalisation and consolidation of claimants' data from hardcopy records and the thirty-year-old legacy database into a single, whole-scheme IT system will lead to improving long-term efficiency and service delivery for Serving personnel, Veterans and their dependants. However, this has unfortunately led in the short term to disruptions processing claims during the transition period, and officials are working hard to clear the backlog.

Whilst we continue to make every effort to improve processing times, some aspects such as requirements to obtain supporting evidence from third parties outside the department can contribute to longer processing times.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to increase the amount of support it provides to injured veterans.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

This is a Government of service that will always stand up for those who serve our country. I am working across Government and with civil society to ensure Veterans get access to the health, housing, employment and other support they need. This year, we will set out our plans for Veterans in our updated Veterans’ Strategy. This Government will always stand up for those who have served our country.

Veterans who are resident in England can access specialist care for physical and mental health conditions via Op RESTORE and Op COURAGE respectively. Alternative provision is available in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as responsibility for health is devolved.

Veterans UK, which is part of the Ministry of Defence, provides free support for Veterans and their families, including a helpline, Veterans Welfare Service, Defence Transition Services and injury/bereavement compensation scheme payments.

The Ministry of Defence runs two main compensation schemes – Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pension Scheme. Both Schemes provide compensation for injury or illness caused by Service. Eligible Veterans are entitled to make a claim, the details of which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-armed-forces-compensation-or-a-war-pension

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she expects the Equality and Human Rights Commission to update its code of practice following the Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025.

Answered by Bridget Phillipson - Minister for Women and Equalities

Progress in UK-EU relations

Foster Care Fortnight

Political parties at Pride

Closure of Yeovil District Hospital’s maternity unit

Court transcript costs

UK-EU Summit

Right to peaceful protest and freedom of assembly

Gaza occupation proposals

Electoral reform

Somerset County Cricket Club and Tom Banton

Blockade of aid to Gaza

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Found: _NC13 Lisa Smart Anna Sabine Luke Taylor Ben Maguire .

Found: _NC13 Lisa Smart Anna Sabine Luke Taylor Ben Maguire .