Oral Answers to Questions

Deidre Brock Excerpts

Tuesday 4th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Edward Argar)]

My right hon. Friend makes an important point. SARCs fall under the remit of the Department of Health and Social Care, but NHS England commissioned a report last year to assess the current state and future needs of the SARC workforce. Alongside SARCs and other victim support services, I have increased the funding available to rape and sexual violence support services by 10%, moving the funding from an annual to a three-year cycle.

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

T3. Last month the Scottish Government raised the age of criminal responsibility to 12 years, which should ensure that young children are not left with criminal records that follow them into adulthood. In England, however, the age of criminal responsibility is 10 years. Will the Government consider following the Scottish Government’s approach?