Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, by what date he plans to introduce free independent legal advice for adult rape victims.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government continues to progress the manifesto commitment to introduce free independent legal advice (ILA) for victims of adult rape, to help them understand and feel confident in their legal rights.
ILAs will be able to help victims with issues including understanding their rights, understanding what constitutes a reasonable Third-Party Material or digital material request, assisting with complaint applications, compensation claims, and the Victim’s Right to Review scheme.
We will be making further announcements about our plans for the rollout of this service in due course.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what estimate she has made of the number of additional Crown prosecutors that will be required to help reduce violence against women and girls.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) National Operating Model (NOM) for adult rape prosecutions and the CPS-Police Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan (DA JJP) are central to improving outcomes in cases involving violence against women and girls (VAWG). These initiatives rely on dedicated, specially trained prosecutors working across a range of CPS Units, including Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Units, Magistrates Units, and Crown Court Units.
The latest Spending Review settlement for the CPS reflects the Government’s commitment to protecting the public through independent and fair prosecutions. It will provide record investment into the CPS, with total funding reaching £1 billion in 2028-29 to help bring more offenders to justice.
The additional £95.8m over the Spending Review period will allow CPS to increase the number of prosecutors and people on the frontline delivering justice, including in CPS’s specialist Rape and Serious Sexual Offence units, and to improve their services to victims and witnesses. The CPS continues to monitor demand and resource requirements closely to ensure effective delivery of its commitments.
The forthcoming CPS VAWG Strategy, due for publication later this year, sets out to improve prosecution effectiveness and build victim trust, including updated legal guidance, enhanced specialist training, and targeted action plans for specific offence types such as stalking and honour-based abuse. The strategy reflects the CPS’ commitment to supporting the Government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his planned timetable is for the operation of specialist courts to fast-track rape cases.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to improving victims’ experience of the justice system. We commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to propose bold and ambitious measures to deliver swifter justice for victims, including for victims of sexual violence, in his Independent Review of Criminal Courts. Work on Part 2 of the report, which is looking at how the criminal courts can operate as efficiently as possible, is underway. We expect it to be finalised this year. We are considering how we can deliver our manifesto commitment alongside this work.
We are also committed to tackling the outstanding caseload to improve timeliness - we have already doubled magistrates’ sentencing powers, so that Crown Courts can focus on the most serious cases, and this year we have funded a record-high allocation of 111,250 Crown Court sitting days.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Tribunal system reforms to speed up asylum decisions, published on 24 August 2025, whether she plans to stipulate time limits for dealing with cases.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Secretary confirmed in a statement to the House of Commons on 1 September that further information regarding Tribunal system reforms will be provided in due course. The statement can be accessed here: Borders and Asylum - Hansard - UK Parliament
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the press release entitled Tribunal system reforms to speed up asylum decisions, published on 24 August 2025, whether first-tier tribunal judges of the immigration and asylum chamber will be permitted to work as professionally-trained adjudicators at the proposed new independent body.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Secretary confirmed in a statement to the House of Commons on 1 September that further information regarding Tribunal system reforms will be provided in due course. The statement can be accessed here: Borders and Asylum - Hansard - UK Parliament.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the press release entitled Tribunal system reforms to speed up asylum decisions, published on 24 August 2025, whether her Department plans to use primary legislation to (a) establish and (b) give full powers to the proposed new independent body to make decisions on asylum appeal cases.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Secretary confirmed in a statement to the House of Commons on 1 September that further information regarding Tribunal system reforms will be provided in due course. The statement can be accessed here: Borders and Asylum - Hansard - UK Parliament.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the press release entitled Tribunal system reforms to speed up asylum decisions, published on 24 August 2025, how long she expects it will take to train an adjudicator to make decisions on asylum appeal cases.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Secretary confirmed in a statement to the House of Commons on 1 September that further information regarding Tribunal system reforms will be provided in due course. The statement can be accessed here: Borders and Asylum - Hansard - UK Parliament.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
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 education of women and girls globally.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to empowering women and girls around the world through our international work. We work through the humanitarian system, leveraging multilateral institutions' funding, and strategically deploying scarce resources to improve access to quality education, particularly for women and girls, through stronger systems.
In November 2024, the UK provided £14 million of support for Sudanese refugees through Education Cannot Wait. This reaches 200,000 vulnerable displaced children with education interventions in Sudan and Sudanese refugee populations in Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan and Uganda.
An estimated 60 million girls are sexually assaulted on their journey to, from and in school annually. In May 2025, the Minister for Africa launched the new Ministerial Taskforce on Ending Violence in and around Schools co-chaired by the UK and Sierra Leone. 11 countries endorsed a joint declaration committing to make violence prevention in and around schools a political priority.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the taxable turnover SMEs can earn in a12-month period before registering for VAT.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At £90,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU country and the joint highest in the OECD. This keeps the majority of businesses out of the VAT regime altogether.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will launch a public consultation on the proposed changes to EHCP eligibility criteria.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
This government inherited a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system that has been failing to meet the needs of children and families for far too long. We know that families face real challenges with EHC plans and that even after fighting to secure the entitlement, a plan does not always guarantee the right the support will be delivered.
The department needs to focus on addressing the overall systemic issues that make SEND support so hard to access. We are thinking about how we protect support for the children that will always need specialist placements and to make accessing that support less bureaucratic and adversarial, as well as how we intervene earlier so support can be provided regardless of whether a legal plan is in place.
Ministers and officials have been engaging with parents to seek their views on the direction of future reforms and to understand their experiences of the SEND system. For example, through a webinar attended by around 100 parents in early June. We plan to deliver more such webinars over the coming weeks and months.