Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to create national guidelines for preventing adult grooming.

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

The Government is taking a range of actions to prevent the grooming and exploitation of vulnerable adults.

To tackle criminal exploitation, we are introducing a new cuckooing offence in the Crime and Policing Bill to target criminals who groom and exploit vulnerable people in order to take over their homes for criminal purposes. We are also introducing a new offence of coerced internal concealment to address the appalling practice whereby criminals exploit children and vulnerable adults to cause them to internally conceal items such as drugs for criminal purposes. Both offences will be supported by statutory guidance for police as well as non-statutory multi-agency guidance which will include information on preventative action to protect those at risk of these terrible forms of adult grooming and exploitation.

In terms of adult grooming for sexual exploitation, we are working closely with police and others to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through law enforcement operational intensifications aimed at tackling modern slavery threats and targeting prolific perpetrators.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his letter to the hon. Member for Dorking and Horley, dated 4 June 2025, if he will set out the legislative vehicles his Department are considering to address the identified shortcomings in mental capacity law.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 4 June 2025, I wrote to Fiona Laskaris and the Hon. Member for Dorking and Horley, Chris Coghlan MP to confirm my commitment to review the full range of policy and legislative levers in relation to the practical application of mental capacity law. This important work requires careful consideration. The most recent meeting with officials was on 17 June, and we will set out our plans in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what oversight exists to (a) monitor and (b) audit legal expenditure by NHS Trusts in Employment Tribunal cases.

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

Neither the Department nor NHS England monitor or audit legal expenditure by National Health Service trusts in Employment tribunal cases. NHS trusts are responsible for overseeing their own Employment Tribunal cases, which would include monitoring and auditing the legal expenditure. Legal expenditure in Employment Tribunal cases may however be subject to financial audit scrutiny by the NHS trusts’ external auditors, subject to local audit materiality.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has considered the merits of expanding the functions of the Public Guardian to include responsibility for appropriate discharge of mental capacity assessments.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice has responsibility for the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005, which provides a framework for making decisions on behalf of adults who are unable to do so for themselves. The statutory Code of Practice issued under the Act provides guidance to practitioners on the conduct of capacity assessments in keeping with the principles of the MCA.

The Public Guardian is the statutory office holder created by the Act whose core functions relate primarily to registering lasting powers of attorney and supervising court appointed deputies. We have no current plans to expand these functions.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's planned timetable is for its public consultation on the application of mental capacity law.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 4 June 2025, I wrote to Fiona Laskaris and the Hon. Member for Dorking and Horley, Chris Coghlan MP to confirm my commitment to review the full range of policy and legislative levers in relation to the practical application of mental capacity law. This important work requires careful consideration. The most recent meeting with officials was on 17 June, and we will set out our plans in due course.

30th anniversary of Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group

Safe sleep standards in early years settings

Local authority funding

Royal Mail's universal service obligation

Snares

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Harriett Baldwin (Chair); Chris Coghlan; Bobby Dean; John Glen

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Harriett Baldwin (Chair); Chris Coghlan; Bobby Dean; John Glen

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Harriett Baldwin (Chair); Chris Coghlan; Bobby Dean; John Glen

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Harriett Baldwin (Chair); Rachel Blake; Chris Coghlan; Bobby

Found: Forster Sir Julian Smith Graham Stuart Pippa Heylings Dr Al Pinkerton Helen Morgan Tessa Munt Chris Coghlan

Found: Max Wilkinson Helen Morgan Luke Taylor Andrew George Tessa Munt Steff Aquarone Alison Bennett Chris Coghlan

Found: Max Wilkinson Helen Morgan Luke Taylor Andrew George Tessa Munt Steff Aquarone Alison Bennett Chris Coghlan

Found: Dean Mr Calvin Bailey Jerome Mayhew Pippa Heylings Dr Al Pinkerton Helen Morgan Tessa Munt Chris Coghlan

Found: Wendy Chamberlain Sir Edward Leigh Pippa Heylings Dr Al Pinkerton Helen Morgan Tessa Munt Chris Coghlan

Found: Eastwood Dr Roz Savage Dawn Butler Pippa Heylings Dr Al Pinkerton Helen Morgan Tessa Munt Chris Coghlan

Found: Maynard Sorcha Eastwood Dr Roz Savage Pippa Heylings Dr Al Pinkerton Helen Morgan Tessa Munt Chris Coghlan