Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she will provide guidance to statutory safeguarding partners on (a) recognising and (b) responding to the grooming and exploitation of 13 to 16-year-olds.

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

The Government is committed to protecting and safeguarding all children and working to strengthen our response to identify and combat all forms of child sexual abuse and exploitation, including group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse and grooming.

The current Working Together to Safeguard Children statutory guidance provides an important framework to support frontline professionals in understanding their responsibilities in ensuring effective safeguarding of children across the country.

This clarifies that children at risk of harm outside their home, including online, should receive a coordinated multi-agency response in a timely way. Ofsted inspects the provision and quality of children’s social care services across all local authorities and is responsible for ensuring that local authorities adhere to statutory guidance including Working Together to Safeguard Children.

This statutory guidance is one important tool, supported by additional measures to make sure frontline professionals have an effective and robust response to safeguarding and protecting children.

This includes funding the independent Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse work to improve information-sharing where there are concerns of child sexual abuse and work to embed the Child Sexual Abuse Response Pathway across a range of local areas.

And the Prevention Programme delivered by The Children's Society, also seeks to raise awareness of child exploitation to professionals working within the private, statutory and third sectors, as well as the general public, and upskills staff to better respond to, disrupt and prevent multiple forms of child exploitation, including child sexual exploitation. Furthermore, we continue to invest in the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to support policing's response to all forms of child sexual abuse and exploitation, including by providing practice advice for investigators.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending statutory guidance to clarify the intent of section 75 of the Crime and Policing Bill on the reporting of abuse of 13-16 year olds that appears consensual.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

When recommending the introduction of a mandatory reporting duty to government, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recognised that in limited circumstances, a different approach may sometimes be necessary when considering sexual activity between teenagers (where a reporter has no wider concerns about the situation).

However, sexual activity under the age of consent is illegal and the Government does not condone underage sex.

Section 75 of the Bill is informed by the Inquiry's consideration of this issue. Guidance will be published to accompany the duty which will make clear that sexual relationships involving teenagers under the age of consent should not be met by inaction or indifference, as well as setting out appropriate avenues for advice and support.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Casey review, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that victims aged 13 to 16 are adequately protected under section 75 of the Crime and Policing Bill.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

When recommending the introduction of a mandatory reporting duty to government, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recognised that in limited circumstances, a different approach may sometimes be necessary when considering sexual activity between teenagers (where a reporter has no wider concerns about the situation).

However, sexual activity under the age of consent is illegal and the Government does not condone underage sex.

Section 75 of the Bill is informed by the Inquiry's consideration of this issue. Guidance will be published to accompany the duty which will make clear that sexual relationships involving teenagers under the age of consent should not be met by inaction or indifference, as well as setting out appropriate avenues for advice and support.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to publish guidance to clarify the legal position of children aged 13 to 16 under section 75 of the Crime and Policing Bill.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

When recommending the introduction of a mandatory reporting duty to government, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recognised that in limited circumstances, a different approach may sometimes be necessary when considering sexual activity between teenagers (where a reporter has no wider concerns about the situation).

However, sexual activity under the age of consent is illegal and the Government does not condone underage sex.

Section 75 of the Bill is informed by the Inquiry's consideration of this issue. Guidance will be published to accompany the duty which will make clear that sexual relationships involving teenagers under the age of consent should not be met by inaction or indifference, as well as setting out appropriate avenues for advice and support.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact the omission of a minimum age limit for sex education within the revised Relationship, Sex and Health Education statutory guidance on pupils under the age of 9.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

Sex education is not compulsory in primary schools, but the statutory guidance for relationship, sex and health education (RSHE) recommends that primaries teach sex education in years 5 and/or 6, in line with content about conception and birth, which forms part of the national curriculum for science.

The guidance is absolutely clear that schools are responsible for ensuring that lesson content is age-appropriate, whilst trusting teachers to respond to issues at the right time, allowing flexibility to develop a curriculum that meets the needs of their pupils, and this is one of the guiding principles of all RSHE.

The guidance is also clear that primary schools should consult parents about the content of anything that will be taught within sex education, including giving advice about parents’ right to request withdrawal from sex education.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce waiting times for decisions on applications to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is working with NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), the administrators of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), to process claims at a faster rate. We have scaled up and modernised VDPS operations through the digitisation of the claims process and increasing administration staff working on the VDPS. NHSBSA is also engaging with healthcare providers to improve the return rate of medical records, essential to assessing claims, including though submitting subject access requests.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decriminalisation of abortion of women who are (a) vulnerable and (b) subject to (i) coercion and (ii) abuse: and what steps he plans to take to protect them.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (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 allows hon. Members to vote according to their moral, ethical or religious beliefs.

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. Following the decriminalisation of abortion for pregnant women acting in relation to their own pregnancy, the Department will consider whether sufficient safeguards are already in place or whether additional guidance is needed.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of decriminalising abortion on the (a) rights and (b) responsibilities of medical professionals.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

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.

Under section 4(1) of the Abortion Act 1967, medical professionals have the right to refuse to participate in terminations of pregnancy, other than where the termination is necessary to save the life of, or prevent grave injury to, the pregnant woman. This right is limited to refusal to participate in the procedure(s) itself and not to pre- or post-treatment care, advice or management.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of a compensation scheme for people adversely affected by Covid-19 vaccinations.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I would like to reiterate my deepest sympathies to all those individuals who have experienced harm following vaccination, and to their families.

The long-standing Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) provides a one-off, tax-free payment of £120,000 to claimants who have been found, in rare cases and on the balance of probabilities, to have been severely disabled by certain vaccines for a disease listed in the Vaccine Damage Payment Act 1979. The VDPS is not designed to be a compensation scheme and does not prejudice the right of the individual to pursue a claim for damages through the courts.

The Government recognises that concerns have been raised regarding the VDPS, including by some of those who have suffered harm following COVID-19 vaccination. Ministers continue to consider options for reforming the scheme.

Cost of asylum seeker accommodation

Dr Thomas Henry Geddis OBE

Cost of asylum seeker accommodation (No. 2)

Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week 2025

Supreme Court judgment on religious education in Northern Ireland

Reformation Day 2025

Free speech and Dr Päivi Räsänen

Discrimination in Ulster boxing

Baby Loss Month

Preventing sight loss in people with diabetes

Acquittal of Soldier F

Poppy Appeal in Northern Ireland

Charlie Kirk

Death of Wayne Broadhurst

Christian founders of The Entertainer

500th anniversary of William Tyndale translating the Bible into English

Found: Down Chris Hazzard MP Sinn Féin Strangford Jim Shannon MP Democratic Unionist Party Upper Bann Carla Lockhart

Found: Down Chris Hazzard MP Sinn Féin Strangford Jim Shannon MP Democratic Unionist Party Upper Bann Carla Lockhart