Jess Asato

There is a wide variety of public appointments which are made by Ministers. Typically they consist of non-executive positions of a public body, or a member of an advisory committee. A person appointed to such a position is an office holder. Office holders tend not to be employees.

By operation of law, statutory maternity and paternity leave is only available to employees, who are employed under an employment contract and meet the necessary eligibility criteria.

A particular Office holder may be eligible for a form of discretionary leave, but this would be a matter for the relevant appointing authority to determine.

The UK fashion industry is famed for its historic creativity and this government recognises the important role the sector plays both in our domestic economy and on the global stage.

It is important to take an evidence-based approach to considering policy options. As well as the garment trade adjudicator or fashion watchdog idea, there have been other proposals including licensing and increased guidance on managing supply chains. We will continue to review measures to drive up standards across the sector and monitor global regulatory proposals in the sector.

The Government recognises that thermal storage can be advantageous, because of its smaller physical size, for properties that may struggle to install a traditional hot water cylinder. If installed at the same time as a heat pump, the installation of thermal storage will be zero rated for VAT purposes.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme does not fund thermal storage because we are directing funding at heat pumps and in limited circumstances biomass boilers. However, we will keep our policy under review as further evidence emerges. In addition, Government is funding innovation in thermal storage through its energy research programmes.

Heat pumps will have a major role to play in all net zero pathways and the Government expects most properties will ultimately switch to heat pumps as these are a proven technology and have been installed in high numbers in other countries.

We recognise that heat pumps may not be feasible in a small number of off-gas-grid properties and have commissioned a package of research to collect data on the costs of different approaches to decarbonising the most complex housing archetypes, including the use of alternative low carbon heating solutions. We expect to receive results from that research in 2025.

We are committed to ensuring that communities who live near new clean energy infrastructure can see the benefits of this and are currently considering how to most effectively deliver this. This includes developing guidance on community benefits for electricity transmission network infrastructure, which we will publish in due course.

Under the Online Safety Act platforms must proactively tackle the most harmful illegal content including extreme pornography, much of which disproportionately affects women and girls. The Act requires services in scope to understand risks from illegal content online and take mitigating action.

Separate to provisions in the Online Safety Act, the Independent Pornography Review, led by Independent Lead Reviewer Baroness Gabby Bertin will explore the effectiveness of regulation, legislation and the law enforcement response to pornography. The government expects the Review to present its final report by the end of the year.

Under the Online Safety Act, platforms must proactively tackle the most harmful illegal content including extreme pornography, much of which disproportionately affects women and girls. The Act requires services in scope to understand risks from illegal content online and take mitigating action.

Separate to provisions in the Online Safety Act, the Independent Pornography Review, led by Independent Lead Reviewer Baroness Gabby Bertin will explore the effectiveness of regulation, legislation and the law enforcement response to pornography. The government expects the Review to present its final report by the end of the year.

This government is committed to keeping children safe and to breaking the link between young people’s backgrounds and their success. Reforming children’s social care is critical to giving hundreds of thousands of children and young people the start in life they deserve.

The department is very grateful for the work of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, including their report published last week on child sexual abuse in the family environment. Any instance of child abuse is abhorrent, and this report importantly highlights the weaknesses in the system that have shielded abusers and left children at risk of harm. There is a renewed government focus in which we will be driving a holistic and ambitious response to tackling all forms of abuse, including child sexual abuse. Multi-agency child protection teams are based on a recommendation from a previous Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel report, Child Protection in England. They are part of the Families First for Children (FFC) pathfinders that draw on evidence from the ‘Supporting Families’ and ‘Strengthening families, protecting children’ programmes, which deliver multi-agency and multi-disciplinary whole-family support for children and young people. Evaluation of the ‘Supporting Families’ programme showed a 32% reduction in children going into care from families within two years of being on the programme. The ‘Family Safeguarding’ programme evaluation also found significant reductions in the numbers of new looked after children aged under 12, which reduced by 26%, average number of children on Child Protection Plans aged under 12, which reduced by 43%, and police call outs, the monthly average of which reduced by 64%.

In the ten FFC pathfinder areas, multi-agency child protection practitioners from the local authority, police, health and other relevant agencies are working together in a much more integrated way with overall responsibility for protecting children from harm, alongside social workers with the highest levels of knowledge and skills in child protection work. We know that by working together, agencies are better able to accurately and quickly identify when children are likely to experience, or are experiencing, significant harm and take decisive and skilled action to address this.

In addition to the £45 million already invested in the FFC pathfinder programme, last week the government announced two grants for Children’s Services in 2025/26 which should be used together, alongside the £680 million increase in the Social Care Grant:

• A Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant worth £250 million of new funding to enable direct investment in additional prevention activity through transition to Family Help.
• A Children and Families Grant worth £415 million, including £253.5 million of what was ‘Supporting Families’ funding in 2024/25.

I pay tribute to the vital efforts of foster carers, who carry out a challenging role that requires skill, dedication and love. Our policy statement, ‘Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive’ sets out our plans to recruit and retain more foster carers and provide access to support for both kinship and foster carers. This statement can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67375fe5ed0fc07b53499a42/Keeping_Children_Safe__Helping_Families_Thrive_.pdf

This government has also confirmed its commitment to further reforms to children’s social care in the future. As part of these reforms, the department will consider how it can further support foster carers and ensure that more children receive loving care in foster families. However, there are no current plans to introduce a statutory minimum fee framework for foster carers.

Fostering service providers, including local authorities, have the flexibility to pay additional fees. Decisions to pay fees are therefore made independently by the fostering service provider. The department encourages all fostering service providers to regularly review the fees they pay to their foster carers to ensure they remain appropriate.

All foster carers should receive at least the National Minimum Allowance (NMA), to cover the costs of raising an extra child in their home. The NMA has been uplifted by 3.55% for the 2025/26 financial year

If any foster carers receive less than the NMA, they should discuss this with their fostering service and use their complaints procedure if necessary. If the issue is not resolved, it can be escalated to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, who has assured the department that these cases will be considered and dealt with appropriately.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) is being independently conducted by a group of education leaders (the review group) and chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Terms of Reference were published in July 2024.

The review has been asked to consider how to remove barriers to learning and remove ceilings to achievement. It will support the innovation and professionalism of teachers, enabling them to adapt how they teach the curriculum to their students’ lives and life experiences.

The review will also look at whether the current assessment system can be improved for both young people and staff. It will seek to deliver an assessment system that captures the strengths of every child and young person and the breadth of curriculum with the right balance of assessment methods whilst maintaining the important role of examinations.

The role of the review group is to consider the evidence, the responses to the call for evidence and widespread engagement with the sector over the coming months, and then make recommendations for the government to consider.

The review group will publish an interim report in the new year setting out their interim findings and confirming the key areas for further work. The final review with recommendations will be published in autumn 2025.

The government will consider changes to the National Curriculum and assessment in light of the recommendations of the review.

A link to access the CAR’s call for evidence can be found below: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/improving-the-curriculum-and-assessment-system.

The Government has launched a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan to deliver on our legally binding targets to save nature. This includes how best to manage chemicals, including the risks posed by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). A Regulatory Management Options Analysis (RMOA), published in April 2023, made a detailed assessment of the range of hazards and risks from PFAS identified in Great Britain, as well as a preliminary analysis of the availability of alternatives for a range of applications. The RMOA recommended a range of actions including the development of UK REACH restrictions for a wide range of PFAS uses. We have started work on a UK REACH dossier investigating whether to restrict PFAS in fire-fighting foams, and we are scoping further action across a wide range of industrial and consumer PFAS uses.

Action has already been taken to ban or highly restrict specific per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) both domestically and internationally, including PFOS (perfluoro-octane sulfonate), PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFHxS (perfluorohexanesulphonic acid), the use and production of which was prohibited in 2023.

Internationally, PFAS was added to the OSPAR List of Chemicals for Priority Action in 2023. This list identifies substances considered to be a threat to the marine environment and the actions that OSPAR Contracting Parties (including the UK) should take to minimise those threats. The UK Government is also working closely with domestic regulators and key stakeholders to improve wider understanding and approach to managing the risks from PFAS. This includes working with the Environment Agency (EA) to assess levels of PFAS occurring in the environment, their sources, and potential risks to inform future policy and regulatory approaches.

The EA monitors for PFAS in England. Additional PFAS are being added to those measured as the scientific capabilities and reference standards improve. The EA analyses PFAS in freshwater and saline fish. PFAS are also monitored in the marine environment by Centre for Environment, Fish and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), using samples from fish and cetaceans.

The Secretary of State has asked his department to convene a Taskforce of experts from across the Government, industry, academia and relevant NGOs. The Taskforce will help to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government will make on a sector-by-sector basis. The Taskforce will consider the evidence for action right across the economy, and as such the Taskforce will evaluate what interventions may need to be made in the textiles sector as it helps to develop the Circular Economy Strategy. In the meantime we have no plans to require clothing producers or retailers to publish additional data.

No recent assessment has been made of the Environmental Audit Committee’s recommendation for a charge on garments to fund collection and sorting services. However, the Secretary of State has asked his department to convene a taskforce of experts from across the Government, industry, academia and relevant NGOs. The Taskforce will help to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government will make on a sector-by-sector basis. The Taskforce will consider the evidence for action right across the economy, and as such the Taskforce will evaluate what interventions may need to be made in the textiles sector as it helps to develop the Circular Economy Strategy.

Defra officials have had discussions with their counterparts in other countries to learn lessons on tackling waste, including plastic waste. For instance, officials have had discussions with the German Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) administrator to assist in developing the DRS in the UK.

Buses are the most commonly used mode of public transport in Britain, and good local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities. The Government is determined to deliver better bus services, grow passenger numbers and drive opportunity to under-served regions. We have set out our plan to achieve this, centred around supporting local transport authorities to take back control of local bus services.

In order to give control back to local leaders, we will pass the Better Buses Bill and review existing guidance for local authorities. We want to make bus franchising quicker, easier and cheaper to deliver, for all types of local authority, as well as removing the existing ban on the creation of new municipal bus companies. We will refocus the Department to provide help and support to local authorities to make franchising – and other models where they are preferred locally – a success.

The information requested is not available.

DWP stated routinely collecting data on care leavers claiming UC in February 2022. All new claimants are now given the option of reporting their care leaver status, and work coaches can record existing claimants’ care leaver status if they are told about this.

This data is being monitored for data quality and does not meet the quality assurance standards for officials statistics: the data coverage is still very limited and the claimants we have data on are not representative of the UC caseload. It is hoped that information will be available for publication in 2027. I have asked officials to explore the potential for answering this question from other data sources.

This Government is committed to pensioners – everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement.

Given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control.

Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80.

The Government is committed to a preventative approach to public health. Keeping people warm and well at home and improving the quality of new and existing homes will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives and reducing pressures on the NHS.

We are also providing support through our Warm Homes Plan which pensioners will benefit from. This will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament. Our long-term plan will protect billpayers permanently, reduce fuel poverty, and get the UK back on track to meet our climate goals.

In making a decision on Winter Fuel Payment eligibility, the Government had regard to the equality analysis in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty requirements.

For the latest year 2022/23, 1.9 million pensioners were in relative poverty after housing costs (AHC). Of these, 1.6 million pensioners were not in receipt of Pension Credit.

For the latest year 2022/23, 1.4 million pensioners were in absolute poverty AHC. Of these, 1.2 million pensioners were not in receipt of Pension Credit.

A household is in relative poverty if its income is less than 60 per cent of the median household income in a given financial year. ​A household is in absolute poverty if its income is less than 60% of median household income in 2010/11, uprated by inflation.​

‘Households Below Average Income’ provides estimates on the number of and percentage of people living in low-income households based on their household disposable income. As an income measure, it does not include other available resources that might impact on a household’s poverty levels such as savings.

These numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100,000.

This data is available on Stat-Xplore at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk in the ‘Households Below Average Income’ dataset.

More Information on the data included in the ‘Households Below Average Income’ dataset can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2023/households-below-average-income-series-quality-and-methodology-information-report-fye-2023#income-definition.

Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html.

An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.

Recognising the wide-ranging causes of pensioner poverty, we will explore how we can use all the available levers we have across government, external partners and local authorities. This includes boosting the uptake of Pension Credit to ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need.

We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. This will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Payment alongside a range of other benefits – depending on circumstances, these could be worth hundreds of pounds that could really help them.

The requested information is not available. However, figures are published showing the number of households in receipt of an exception for children likely to have been born as a result of non-consensual conception, which for this purpose includes rape or where the claimant was in a controlling or coercive relationship with the child’s other biological parent at the time of conception. Table2, provides this information.

The full statistics tables and supporting narrative are published here: Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit claimants: statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of 2 children, April 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In 2023, NHS England published a new Heath Technical Memoranda (HTM) titled Safe and Sustainable Management of Healthcare Waste, as well as a new clinical waste strategy. Further information on the HTM is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/B2159iii-health-technical-memorandum-07-01.pdf

Contained within the documents are targets and goals for improved clinical waste segregation, elimination of landfill waste, and increased waste recycling programmes. These measures will continue to reduce waste, and provide better value for money to the National Health Service.

As part of the recommendations from the Department and NHS England’s Review of risk of modern slavery and human trafficking in the NHS supply chain, published in December 2023, it was recommended to lay regulations with a view to eradicate modern slavery, supporting the amendment of Section 12zc in the NHS Act 2006. The regulations cover all goods and service procurements on behalf of the health service, which includes medical garments. Further information on the review is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-risk-of-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking-in-the-nhs-supply-chain

The Department and NHS England have also collaborated to develop detailed guidance to support the embedding of the regulations and policies throughout the procurement exercise. This ensures alignment to procurements conducted under all legal regimes including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Procurement Act 2023, and the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.

A public consultation for the content and approach of those regulations is to be launched in Autumn 2024. This will support my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to develop the regulations to ensure the National Health Service eradicates modern slavery in supply chains.

The Department’s Design for Life Programme is dedicated to the exploration and delivery of a circular economy for medical devices, including consumables, through greater reuse, remanufacture, and recycling. Its work includes exploring regulatory, commercial, digital, policy, and research environments that support delaying products becoming waste for as long as possible. This includes working closely with the MedTech industry to determine sustainable ways of manufacture and reducing waste. More details on the Design for Life programme will be published shortly.

The NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap sets out the steps suppliers must take to align with the National Health Services’ net zero ambition between now and 2030. NHS England will continue to work closely with regulators, suppliers, and industry bodies to shape our approach to further milestones, including product-level requirements, and give all suppliers the opportunity to align with our net zero ambition. This roadmap is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/greenernhs/get-involved/suppliers/

The Department’s Design for Life Programme is dedicated to the exploration and delivery of a circular economy for medical devices, including consumables, through greater reuse, remanufacture, and recycling. Its work includes exploring regulatory, commercial, digital, policy, and research environments that support delaying products becoming waste for as long as possible. This includes working closely with the MedTech industry to determine sustainable ways of manufacture and reducing waste. More details on the Design for Life programme will be published shortly.

The NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap sets out the steps suppliers must take to align with the National Health Services’ net zero ambition between now and 2030. NHS England will continue to work closely with regulators, suppliers, and industry bodies to shape our approach to further milestones, including product-level requirements, and give all suppliers the opportunity to align with our net zero ambition. This roadmap is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/greenernhs/get-involved/suppliers/

The National Health Service has committed to reaching net zero by 2045 for the emissions it influences through the goods and services it buys from its partners and suppliers. This includes a greater focus on procuring and using sustainable and reusable medical garments where this is safe and effective, such as reusable sterile gowns.

To support this, NHS England is working with NHS organisations to share best practice and evidence-based approaches, understand operational challenges, for example, requirements for laundry infrastructure, and support the inclusion of lots to procure reusable medical textile services within relevant procurement frameworks. NHS England supported the Royal Surgical Colleges to develop and promote the Green Theatre Checklist to encourage sustainable theatre approaches, including medical garments. The checklist is available at the following link:

https://www.rcsed.ac.uk/professional-support-development-resources/environmental-sustainability-and-surgery/green-theatre-checklist

NHS England is also supporting innovation through the Small Business Research Initiative Healthcare programme, which has funded a project to support reuse of surgical textiles. More information is available at the following link:

https://sbrihealthcare.co.uk/impact-case-studies/case-studies/revolution-zero

The Department continues to work closely with the Greener NHS programme in NHS England to support the NHS to meet its net zero targets, including a focus on procuring and using sustainable and reusable products where this is safe and effective.

On 5 December, I convened a Financial Inclusion Committee which has been established to tackle the problems of financial exclusion. Through this committee, I will work with consumer groups and industry on the development of a Financial Inclusion Strategy.

This strategy will aim to tackle barriers to individual and households’ ability to access affordable and appropriate financial products and services. This will include access to banking, credit and insurance.

Ensuring people have access to appropriate financial products and services is a key priority for the Government and is vital to supporting people’s financial resilience and wellbeing. It is also an essential part of achieving inclusive growth and ensuring individuals are able to fully participate in the economy.

On 5 December, I convened a Financial Inclusion Committee which has been established to tackle the problems of financial exclusion. Through this committee, I will work with consumer groups and industry on the development of a Financial Inclusion Strategy. This will consider a range of barriers to inclusion for excluded groups, with a particular focus on access to banking, credit, and insurance.

The Government has inherited a challenging fiscal position, with debt near 100% of GDP and borrowing more than double what it was before the pandemic. In addition to this, a Treasury audit in July 2024 revealed an additional £21.9 billion pressure on departmental spending.

As a result, the Government will have to take difficult decisions in relation to tax, spending and welfare at the budget.

Defra are convening a taskforce of experts to help to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. The Taskforce will consider the evidence for action right across the economy, and as such the Taskforce will evaluate what interventions may need to be made in the textiles sector as it helps to develop the Circular Economy Strategy.

The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out an ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all the levers available to us to deliver this.

The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target prolific perpetrators.

We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women. The Home Office does not hold data specific to Lowestoft. However, from January to June 2024, 6 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or wholly) sexual exploitation disclosed that their exploitation occurred in Suffolk. As we both know this will not be the extent of sexual exploitation in this area.

Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.

To help support victims, we are providing £1.36m over three years to Changing Lives for their Net-Reach project, which provides early intervention and targeted support for women and girls at high-risk of commercial exploitation. We are also providing £378,811 to Trevi Women who provide trauma-informed support to women wishing to exit on-street prostitution.

In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. This support includes safe accommodation where necessary, financial support and a support worker to help them access wider support services, including medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.

Home Office Ministers regularly meet with stakeholders, including NGOs and law enforcement partners, to promote the better identification and prosecution of perpetrators, and to enhance support for victims who are trapped within commercial sexual exploitation under the guise of prostitution.

The Government will set out next steps in this area in due course.

The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out an ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all the levers available to us to deliver this.

The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target prolific perpetrators.

We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women. The Home Office does not hold data specific to Lowestoft. However, from January to June 2024, 6 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or wholly) sexual exploitation disclosed that their exploitation occurred in Suffolk. As we both know this will not be the extent of sexual exploitation in this area.

Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.

To help support victims, we are providing £1.36m over three years to Changing Lives for their Net-Reach project, which provides early intervention and targeted support for women and girls at high-risk of commercial exploitation. We are also providing £378,811 to Trevi Women who provide trauma-informed support to women wishing to exit on-street prostitution.

In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. This support includes safe accommodation where necessary, financial support and a support worker to help them access wider support services, including medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.

Home Office Ministers regularly meet with stakeholders, including NGOs and law enforcement partners, to promote the better identification and prosecution of perpetrators, and to enhance support for victims who are trapped within commercial sexual exploitation under the guise of prostitution.

The Government will set out next steps in this area in due course.

The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out an ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all the levers available to us to deliver this.

The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target prolific perpetrators.

We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women. The Home Office does not hold data specific to Lowestoft. However, from January to June 2024, 6 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or wholly) sexual exploitation disclosed that their exploitation occurred in Suffolk. As we both know this will not be the extent of sexual exploitation in this area.

Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.

To help support victims, we are providing £1.36m over three years to Changing Lives for their Net-Reach project, which provides early intervention and targeted support for women and girls at high-risk of commercial exploitation. We are also providing £378,811 to Trevi Women who provide trauma-informed support to women wishing to exit on-street prostitution.

In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. This support includes safe accommodation where necessary, financial support and a support worker to help them access wider support services, including medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.

Home Office Ministers regularly meet with stakeholders, including NGOs and law enforcement partners, to promote the better identification and prosecution of perpetrators, and to enhance support for victims who are trapped within commercial sexual exploitation under the guise of prostitution.

The Government will set out next steps in this area in due course.

The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out an ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all the levers available to us to deliver this.

The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target prolific perpetrators.

We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women. The Home Office does not hold data specific to Lowestoft. However, from January to June 2024, 6 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or wholly) sexual exploitation disclosed that their exploitation occurred in Suffolk. As we both know this will not be the extent of sexual exploitation in this area.

Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.

To help support victims, we are providing £1.36m over three years to Changing Lives for their Net-Reach project, which provides early intervention and targeted support for women and girls at high-risk of commercial exploitation. We are also providing £378,811 to Trevi Women who provide trauma-informed support to women wishing to exit on-street prostitution.

In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. This support includes safe accommodation where necessary, financial support and a support worker to help them access wider support services, including medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.

Home Office Ministers regularly meet with stakeholders, including NGOs and law enforcement partners, to promote the better identification and prosecution of perpetrators, and to enhance support for victims who are trapped within commercial sexual exploitation under the guise of prostitution.

The Government will set out next steps in this area in due course.