Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that magistrates receive training on (a) coercive control and (b) the longer-term impacts of domestic abuse; and whether any similar training is planned for the future.

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

To preserve judicial independence, under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Lady Chief Justice has the statutory responsibility for the training of the courts judiciary in England and Wales, fulfilled by the Judicial College.

Domestic abuse is a significant element of initial and ongoing training for magistrates and legal advisers. All magistrates complete induction training on appointment and when authorised in new jurisdictions, before they undertake sittings. Regular continuation training in relation to domestic abuse, in all its forms, is provided thereafter. Magistrates sitting in the family and criminal jurisdictions receive mandatory domestic abuse training. The training is trauma-informed and reflects the wide nature of domestic abuse including coercive and controlling behaviour.

The College regularly reviews its training to ensure it remains high quality and up to date, and reflects contemporary law, practice and procedure.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to strengthen trauma-informed training for police officers responding to domestic abuse cases.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

In our manifesto, we committed to strengthening training on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) for policing to ensure that all officers have the right skills to investigate all VAWG offences, included domestic abuse, and provide consistent support for victims.

The Home Office has already invested £13.1 million this year into the new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP). This funding includes an uplift of nearly £2 million to deliver a robust package of training improvements.

Launched in April 2025, the NCVPP provides coordinated leadership within policing to drive up operational standards and skills across all 43 forces in their response to VAWG crimes.

Through the NCVPP, we are working closely with the College of Policing to develop strengthened, specialist training for officers across all operational levels - frontline, specialist, and leadership.

Grounded in academic research and behaviour change science, new training programmes will prioritise trauma-informed learning to ensure that all officers are well equipped to manage VAWG offenders and provide support to victims.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what legislative steps she is taking to tackle illegal deforestation in supply chains; and what her planned timetable is for introducing a regulatory framework to tackle this issue.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government is currently considering its approach to addressing the impact of the use of forest risk commodities in our supply chains and will set out its approach in due course. We are committed to ensuring that any regulatory framework is robust, proportionate and effective in addressing deforestation.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider adding cheerleading as an approved (a) sport and (b) activity which can be assessed for GCSE Physical Education qualifications.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Cheerleading was recognised as a sport by the Home Nations Sport Councils in December last year.

It is not part of the current GCSE activity list, which was last reviewed in 2018. The department and awarding organisations developed a set of five key considerations which were applied to each activity in order to ensure parity and rigour of assessment.

The government launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review for ages 5 to 18, led by Professor Becky Francis CBE. As part of this review, curriculum and assessment arrangements are being evaluated, including the full range of national curriculum subjects and most GCSEs. This will address the key barriers to pupil achievement and ensure all young people have access to high standards and future opportunities. The department is currently awaiting the outcomes of the Review.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to prevent the overfishing of commercially important species.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is committed to restoring our stocks to sustainable levels and supporting the long-term viability of the UK fishing industry. This is in line with our domestic and international obligations, including those of the Fisheries Act 2020 and Joint Fisheries Statement. We work with international partners to set annual catch limits for shared fish stocks, consistent with the best available scientific advice on the state of those stocks. This is principally advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. We are also taking action to sustainably manage our marine resources through Marine Protected Area management and Fisheries Management Plans, which apply to all vessels in UK waters.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the 60th ratification of the Global Ocean Treaty by Morocco in September 2025.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The government introduced legislation on 10 September to enable the UK to proceed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). I presented this bill for second reading in parliament on 16 October.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's planned timetable is for publishing its Animal Welfare Strategy; and if she will make it her policy to ensure that the Animal Welfare Strategy includes steps to end the use of cages for farmed animals.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The use of cages for farmed animals is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully.

This government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Prime Minister announced that we will be publishing an animal welfare strategy later this year.