Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her Department’s policies of the recommendations of the article entitled Abuse of Women Runners: implications for the violence against women and girls policy agenda, published in November 2024.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government has been clear that the level of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in our country is intolerable, and we are treating it as the national emergency that it is. Everyone should both be and feel safe whilst going about their day-to-day lives – and we recognise the particular vulnerability that women runners may feel.
We will go further than before to deliver a cross-government transformative approach to halve VAWG in a decade, underpinned by a new VAWG strategy, which we are aiming to publish in September.
We are working across Government to use every tool available to target perpetrators and address the root causes of abuse and violence to keep all women safe.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill and her Department's document entitled English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, whether she will bring forward legislative proposals for (a) Mayors to have a statutory role in (i) governing, (ii) managing and (iii) planning railways, and (b) an option for Mayors to control local railway stations and (c) the right for Mayors to request rail devolution.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
These subjects will be addressed in the Railways Bill, to be introduced later in this parliamentary session, and with accompanying guidance on the right to request. Guidance will outline the process for Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities to make this request and the criteria that will be considered, such as national and regional network implications.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the mental health needs of children in Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to supporting the mental health and psychosocial well-being of children affected by the war in Ukraine. This year, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will provide £9.4 million to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) to target urgent needs - including mental health and psychosocial support. URCS will support the delivery of community-based psychosocial services, including, safe, accessible spaces where children can receive essential support, and will expand training for mental health professionals promoting regional knowledge-sharing.
The UK is also leading a multi-donor programme, Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine, which will enhance the capacity of Ukraine's education system to respond to the mental health needs of children. This programme focuses on equipping schoolteachers with the skills to identify signs of psychological distress and to facilitate appropriate referrals, thereby embedding mental health awareness and support within the school environment.